Kenya secures Africa’s first-ever $700,000 UN climate support after losing secretariat bid to Switzerland

Kenya has become the first African country to secure $700,000 in UN-backed technical assistance to assess the economic and non-economic damage caused by climate change, after losing its bid to host the Santiago Network secretariat in Nairobi.

• Kenya has become the first African country to secure $700,000 in UN-backed technical assistance to assess climate change damages.
• The funds will support a nationwide study of economic and non-economic losses caused by extreme weather, offering crucial data for future climate finance applications.
• The Santiago Network secretariat was ultimately placed in Geneva rather than Nairobi, drawing criticism from African campaigners who felt affected communities were sidelined.
• Though the grant is limited compared to Kenya's needs, it may bolster Kenya's efforts to secure greater climate funding and strengthen its leadership in African climate diplomacy.

Kenya secured the award on the sidelines of the United Nations climate meetings in Bonn, Germany.

The $700,000 package, equivalent to about KSh90 million, will finance a nationwide assessment of the economic and non-economic losses caused by climate change over the past decade.

Most importantly, the findings are expected to strengthen Kenya’s case for future international climate financing by documenting the cost of floods, droughts and other extreme weather events.

Festus Ng’eno, Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, said the decision recognised the country’s “leadership in climate action and its commitment to building resilience against the growing impacts of climate change”.

Support targets climate-loss data

However, the $700,000 package is not a direct compensation payment. Instead, it will finance the technical work needed to identify, measure and document climate damage.

Such evidence is often required to access climate finance because funding institutions need reliable data showing the scale, location and cost of the damage.

The assessment will bring together government agencies, technical experts, local communities and other stakeholders. It will identify the regions and sectors most exposed to climate shocks and guide recovery and resilience planning.

The Santiago Network was established in 2019 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to connect vulnerable developing countries with experts and institutions that can help them address climate-related loss and damage.

Its role gained importance after governments established the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28 in Dubai in 2023.

Baboucarr Nyang, a coordinator at Climate Action Network, described the funding as “proof that when the architecture of climate finance works as intended, it can deliver for Africa”.

“Now it must deliver faster and for all,” he said.

Climate shocks threaten Kenya’s economy

Kenya is East Africa’s largest economy by nominal gross domestic product, with the International Monetary Fund projecting output of about $147.3 billion in 2026.

Its position is supported by a diversified economy spanning financial services, agriculture, telecommunications, manufacturing, transport, tourism and technology.

However, climate shocks continue to expose its economic vulnerabilities. In March 2026, severe floods killed at least 62 people, displaced more than 2,000 families and disrupted flights at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Repeated floods and prolonged droughts have also damaged infrastructure, disrupted agriculture and livestock production, and increased pressure on public finances.

Similar climate shocks are also straining other African economies, many of which have limited resources for disaster recovery and adaptation.

Ruto pushes for more climate finance

The award supports President William Ruto’s efforts to position Kenya at the centre of Africa’s climate diplomacy.

“Africa’s carbon footprint remains small, but the human toll of climate change is disproportionately high,” Ruto said at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi in September 2023.

Kenya had also pushed to host the Santiago Network secretariat in Nairobi. Climate Home News, a UK-based climate politics publication, reported that reviewers appointed by the UN agencies managing the network recommended Nairobi as “the optimal location”.

They cited the city’s strong UN relations with the Kenyan government, its “maximum time zone coverage” for coordinating with developing countries and its role as the home of several UN agencies.

However, the network’s advisory board chose Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2024.

The decision drew criticism from African climate campaigners. Mohamed Adow, the Nairobi-based founder of Power Shift Africa, called it “yet another stitch-up by the Global North to keep power away from the places where the impacts of climate change are being felt”.

He added that the decision “fails to put affected communities at the centre of decision-making”.

Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International, described the outcome as “a real missed opportunity”, arguing that wealthy countries could use their ability to finance infrastructure to attract UN institutions.

According to Climate Home News, Switzerland offered 1 million Swiss francs, about $1.1 million at the time, and pledged to cover office and infrastructure costs if the Santiago Network secretariat was located in Geneva.

While Kenya’s $700,000 package remains small compared with its wider climate-financing needs, the assessment could strengthen its case for larger funding for recovery, adaptation and climate-resilient infrastructure.