Kenya Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (K-WASH) Program

Adaptation Need

Although 91% of Kenya’s urban population has access to improved water, only 63% of the rural population does—and just 19% have access to piped water supply. Rural counties face rising climate risks—floods disrupt wastewater treatment, pose contamination risks for water sources and damage water and sanitation infrastructure, while prolonged droughts exacerbate water scarcity. Counties often lack the tools, access to relevant climate data, and technical capacity to assess climate risks and integrate adaptation into planning and infrastructure design. Strengthening county-level planning systems and the financial performance of WSPs is essential to ensure K-WASH investments are sustainable, inclusive, and climate resilient.

GCA’s Added Value

GCA is supporting county governments to embed climate risk assessments and adaptation planning into County-wide Water and Sanitation Strategies and Investment Plans (CWSSIPs). GCA is conducting capacity-building workshops to ensure that county officials gain technical expertise in identifying and addressing climate hazards in future. GCA is directly supporting Tana River and Murang’a counties to develop detailed Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (CRVAs) under a 2050 high emission scenario (SSP5-8.5), guiding six additional counties to do the same, and ensuring that all CWSSIPs are climate risk-informed. GCA is also developing a catalogue of locally appropriate nature-based solutions (NbS) and hybrid options, such as wetland buffers and recharge trenches, to be integrated into county planning frameworks.