Nairobi — Kenya is among three East African nations still grappling with the effects of a five-year drought that began in 2020, according to a new report by ActionAid.
The report, "Climate Finance for Just Transition: How the Finance Flows," highlights that despite occasional rainfall in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, the countries remain stuck in a prolonged cycle of failed rainy seasons, livestock losses, and worsening food insecurity.
In Kenya alone, more than 1.8 million people are currently enduring acute food shortages, with 179,000 facing emergency-level hunger.
"Even though the recent rainy season brought welcome rainfall in the second quarter of 2025, Kenya is still reeling from the long-term devastation caused by multiple successive failed rainy seasons over the last years," the report states.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
It adds that the country faces "alarmingly high malnutrition levels, with food assistance needs projected to increase over 2025."
Somalia has more than 3.4 million people facing high levels of food insecurity, while 10.2 million Ethiopians are severely food insecure, according to the NGO.
"The ongoing drought in East Africa began in 2020. Repeated failed rainy seasons have continued across the region for five years, including through 2025," the report notes.
ActionAid, which supports communities affected by the climate crisis, warned that despite worsening humanitarian needs across East Africa and the broader Global South, global attention and funding remain minimal - placing millions at further risk.
The report, which analysed financing data from the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Investment Funds, revealed that less than 3 percent of climate finance currently supports just transition initiatives - approaches intended to center people and communities in climate financing.
"The world urgently needs action to prevent climate breakdown, but it should be the polluters, not the workers and communities, who pay the price," said Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International.
"Our new report shows just transition approaches are jaw-droppingly underfunded, and people's needs are at the bottom of the priority list. Something's got to give. If just transition continues to be overlooked, then there's a real risk that inequalities will deepen," he added.
