DONOR COORDINATION FOR KENYA DROUGHT

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001772

SIPDIS

AIDAC AFDROUGHT

SIPDIS

USAID/W FOR AA/DCHA, WGARVELINK, LROGERS
DCHA/OFDA FOR GGOTTLIEB, PMORRIS, CGOTTSCHALK,
KCHANNELL
DCHA/FFP FOR JDWORKEN
DCHA/PPM FOR JBRAUSE, SBRADLEY
AFR/EA FOR JBORNS
ADDIS ABABA FOR JAUGSBURGER
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER
ROME FOR FODAG
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NSC FOR TSHORTLEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID KE

SUBJECT: DONOR COORDINATION FOR KENYA DROUGHT

Summary


1. Donor agencies and governments, including
USAID, have stepped up to coordinate efforts to
respond to the current humanitarian emergency in
Kenya. In regular meetings, donors share
information on funding, activities, and partners
in an effort to avoid overlap and gaps in
programming. Meetings supplement work by the
Kenya Food Security Steering Group (KFSSG) and
the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) to disseminate
information and chart humanitarian activities.
At the highpoint of the drought, donors quickly
mobilized and pledged emergency assistance. The
performance of the current long rains will
determine whether donors pledge additional
assistance for emergency drought interventions or
direct funding towards recovery activities. End
Summary.

Donor Coordination


2. On April 3, 2006 USAID staff, including
USAID/OFDA Regional Advisor and Information
Officer and USAID/Kenya Emergency Coordinator,
attended a meeting with donor countries and
organizations to discuss the humanitarian
response to the current drought emergency in
Kenya. Donors have met on an informal basis
since February in order to strengthen
coordination and effectively respond to appeals
from the Government of Kenya (GOK) and the United
Nations (U.N.).


3. Regular meeting participants include donor
agencies such as the United Kingdom?s Department
for International Development (DFID),the
Humanitarian Aid Department of the European
Commission (ECHO),and the Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA),as well as
representatives from donor governments such as
Germany, Norway, France, Italy, and Japan.


4. The meetings enhance information sharing
among the donors, as representatives present
assessment findings and partner reports, as well
as current funding commitments and future
intentions. This process allows donors to better
target assistance and avoid overlap or gaps in
programming. One example of successful
coordination is the collaboration between USAID
and ECHO in the water sector in Wajir District.
After discussing needs, locations, and partners,
ECHO is supporting water activities in northern
and western Wajir and USAID/OFDA is focusing on
southern Wajir.


5. In addition to funding, donors also
informally discuss relationships with U.N. and
GOK counterparts, as well as non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). Donor response depends not
only on needs, but also the capacity of
government offices, U.N. agencies, and NGOs to
carry out effective interventions. Information
received in the meetings assists USAID/OFDA in
identifying capable partners in the field.


6. Discussions also highlight shared concerns
with particular agencies or activities. In the
case of challenges with a particular partner, key
donors often meet with the partner
representatives en masse for added impact. While
a consensus among donors on a particular subject
is not always reached, nor is that the objective

of the meetings, the discussions are always
beneficial for learning what other donors are
considering.

Humanitarian Coordination in Kenya


7. The donor meetings supplement the official
humanitarian coordination for the drought, led by
the KFSSG, which is chaired and run jointly by
the Office of the President and WFP. The KFSSG
conducts periodic needs assessments, provides
humanitarian updates, alerts the government and
donors of impending crises, and contributes to
emergency appeals.


8. While the KFSSG is effective at coordinating
the emergency food, water, and health and
nutrition responses, thanks primarily to WFP's
participation, the steering group is less
successful at bringing together information and
donors in other sectors. In addition, the KFSSG
tends to concentrate on immediate effects of the
drought and short-term interventions, rather than
the chronic and structural causes of hunger in
Kenya. In response to these challenges, key
donors consult informally to share information on
the current crisis, as well as to share
strategies on appropriate responses to the
underlying causes of the crisis.

Donor Intentions for Kenya


9. Humanitarian donors, including USAID, have
pledged more than 100 million US dollars (USD)
for the drought emergency in Kenya.
Contributions have targeted emergency food
relief, water and sanitation interventions,
animal health programs, and emergency health and
nutrition activities. After USAID's FY 2006 food
and non-food contribution of 48.2 million USD,
the largest contributions to the emergency have
come from DFID and ECHO. DFID has pledged an
estimated 12.1 million USD for health and
nutrition activities, water interventions, and
transportation of food aid. ECHO has provided
approximately 6.7 million USD to U.N. agencies
and NGOs for emergency water operations, relief
supplies, and transportation of food aid.


10. In recent meetings, donors have commented on
the arrival of the long rains in many of the
affected areas of Kenya. ECHO and DFID say they
will wait until rain and crop forecasts are
available in May before pledging additional
assistance. If the rains perform well, donors
will focus assistance on recovery activities. If
they fail, continued assistance will be needed
for emergency water, health, and nutrition
interventions.

Conclusion


11. Collaboration and good relations among the
donor community in Kenya have strengthened the
humanitarian response to the current drought
emergency. While information sharing among
donors has generated a broad view of the current
situation, a more detailed mapping of needs and
gaps, particularly in the non-food sectors,
remains vital in order to effectively target
assistance. USAID will continue to encourage the
KFSSG and non-food sector committees to improve
coordination and reporting to the humanitarian
community.


12. USAID will continue to participate in donor
coordination meetings and maintain informal
contacts. USAID will continue to work with other
donors to compile and share information in order
to fill in the gaps.

BELLAMY