Kenya is keenly monitoring the worsening water scarcity and climate-induced conflicts both within its borders and across the wider Horn of Africa.

Interior Principal Secretary Dr. Raymond Omollo has expressed concern that competition over water and grazing resources continues to heighten tensions in vulnerable regions, making water insecurity not only a development issue, but also a matter of peace and national stability that demands urgent and coordinated action.

Speaking during the opening of the International Conference on Water, Peace and Security held at Ole Sereni, Dr. Omollo outlined key government interventions aimed at transforming water from a trigger of conflict into a catalyst for cooperation.

These include the National Climate Change Security Response Programme, the monthly Chiefs’ Climate Action Day, conflict-sensitive natural resource management, strengthened community-based early warning systems, and enhanced cross-border water diplomacy and collaboration with neighbouring countries.

The conference was attended by high-level dignitaries, among them Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, 13th President of Ghana; Amb. Fred Gateretse-Ngoga of the African Union Commission; Outi Holopainen of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland; and Dr. Madiodio Niasse of the Dakar Water Hub, Senegal.