Kenya expects to receive roughly KSh 51.8 billion (about $400 million) in emergency financing from the World Bank within about six weeks, as the government seeks a cushion against overlapping economic and climate shocks, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The money would come through the World Bank’s Rapid Response Option, a mechanism letting eligible countries redirect up to 10 percent of their undisbursed lending portfolio toward an active crisis. A World Bank spokesperson said the lender is helping Kenya finalize a framework — a Contingency Emergency Response Project — that would allow it to draw down funds once an eligible emergency arises.
Kenya initially applied for the facility after fighting involving Iran in February drove global oil prices sharply higher, straining government finances. Officials said the scope of the request has since widened to cover a regional Ebola outbreak and anticipated flooding and agricultural damage tied to El Niño, with above-normal rains forecast for the October-December period. Kenya’s Red Cross has warned the rains could affect more than a million people.
Part of the funding would go toward bolstering health-sector surveillance and outbreak response, given active Ebola cases reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, while other resources would support agriculture and water infrastructure exposed to El Niño-driven flooding. Remaining funds would help offset broader pressure on the economy from elevated energy costs.
Kenya’s overall World Bank project portfolio tops $7 billion, of which about $3 billion has already been disbursed or committed. The exact size of the emergency package will depend on the undisbursed balance once the financing framework is completed. The arrangement comes as Kenya’s government contends with mounting debt-servicing costs that have narrowed its fiscal room in recent years.
