Kenya is intensifying efforts to address the growing threat of water scarcity and climate-induced conflicts, both within its borders and across the wider Horn of Africa.

Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration, Raymond Omollo, has raised concern that competition over scarce water and grazing resources continues to fuel tensions in vulnerable regions, warning that water insecurity has evolved into a peace and national stability issue that demands urgent, coordinated intervention.

Speaking during the opening of the International Conference on Water, Peace, and Security at a Nairobi hotel, Omollo stated that the government is implementing a range of measures aimed at transforming water from a source of conflict into a driver of cooperation.

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

The high-level conference brought together global and regional leaders, including Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the 13th President of Ghana; Amb. Fred Gateretse-Ngoga of the African Union Commission; H.E. Outi Holopainen of Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Dr. Madiodio Niasse of the Dakar Water Hub, Senegal.