Communities in charge - Lessons for the Global Fund for responding to Loss and Damage from a locally-led project in Kenya
Abandoned houses in Iresaboru, Isiolo County. Heavy rains turned catastrophic and destroyed homes and community's vital infrastructures. Photo by Micheck Macharia/Oxfam.
People in northern Kenya have suffered numerous severe economic and non-economic losses and damages due to repeated climate-related droughts and flooding, including loss of lives, livelihoods, housing, access to water and sanitation, education opportunities and peace. In response to a call for proposals from the Scottish Government, between December 2023 and March 2024, Oxfam worked with its partners in northern Kenya – specifically the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Humanitarian Network (AHN),1 Strategies for Northern Development (SND)2 in Samburu County and Merti Integrated Development Programme (MID-P) in Isiolo County3 – to provide measures of redress for the losses and damages suffered. The project took a locally led approach, placing communities affected by climate change at the heart of every stage of planning and delivery. This briefing note summarizes project insights and presents the lived experiences of supported community members.
This is a critical time as, at the global level, as the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) is becoming operational. Governments in Global South countries are also setting up the necessary policies and institutional mechanisms to access financial resources and technical assistance for loss and damage. This briefing aims to bring some key lessons to the attention of decisionmakers at local, national and international levels to ensure thcommunities most affected by climate change are at the centre of decisions, funding and actions to address loss and damage.
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