Kenya to host Africa climate action summit in September

• The summit is expected to be held in Nairobi between September 4 and 6.
• Last week, Kenya hosted the Intergovernmental Authority on Development member states meeting.Kenya will now host the Africa Climate Action Summit in September, after the African Union approved the summit expected to be held in Nairobi between September 4 and 6.

  “Through this summit, we intend to invite as many ministers from across Africa to join us in supporting the activities organized by such forums in addressing climate prediction,” Environment CS Soipan Tuya said.

  “I hope that the participation at the summit will open up new avenues for partnerships and collaboration to assist in the sustainability of the Great Horn of Africa.”

  The CS said the region has suffered and continues to suffer significantly and adversely from drought and famine, resulting in a catastrophic humanitarian calamity.

  She underscored the need to develop climate services that are tailored to the needs of the region, the governments and all stakeholders that utilize the products for socio-economic planning.

  “The effective application of climate prediction relies on climate information becoming appropriately integrated into different users’ policies and practices,” she said.

  Last week, Kenya hosted the Intergovernmental Authority on Development member states meeting as the drought situation continues to worsen.

  The ‘Regional Climate Outlook Forum’ was aimed to discuss the drought situation and enhance the ability of Member States to collect and process data for disaster forecasting.

  The measures proposed will help reduce the gap between early warning and early action, the official said.

  IGAD is a consortium of eight countries under the African Union Commission.

• They include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

  These eight countries cumulatively host a population of 300 million people.