The World Bank will support the construction of Mwache dam, in Kenya’s Kwale County. This follows a financial agreement signed by Kenya and the World Bank for US$ 200m to help in constructing the dam.
The agreement which was signed during climate talks in Paris is part of a larger project under the Paris Pact Flagship Project that targets to build resilient water systems in cities.
Mombasa County Governor Hassan Joho said: “This dam will give us surplus water that we will distribute to other counties,” Mr Joho said.
Other than the financing pledged to Kenya, World Bank has also guaranteed a further US$2.2bn to go towards conserving the Lake Chad basin which is experiencing a major water stress. Countries currently impacted by El Niño have been big winners at the Paris talks with the European Union announcing it will provide US$125m to support affected countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
The funding is meant to bring life-saving emergency assistance and bolster overall resilience in the affected states. It will combine humanitarian and development assistance to address immediate nutrition, sanitation, health and housing needs.
