Eighty percent of agribusiness women surveyed identified water shortage as a critical challenge. Access to traditional water sources like rivers (laga) has become unsafe due to security concerns including violence and theft. Women reported: “We can’t go to the river, it’s either you lose your life, being raped or cut into pieces by gangsters.” Dependence on boreholes that provide water only once a day, with some parts receiving water once every two days, means that when there's a shortage, it can go up to five days to weeks without water, combined with lack of storage containers, severely limits agricultural activities.
In Kakuma refugee camp, water scarcity has become another major challenge, as people in some areas are breaking the pipelines that supply water to different camp locations. Due to budget constraints, Peace Winds Japan's Kakuma field office under WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) has decided to reduce the normal water supply hours by one hour at the community level.
This year, due to budget constraints, refugees organized demonstrations in a peaceful protest demanding access to food, water, and shelter. The protest turned violent when Kenyan police intervened with live ammunition and tear gas, resulting in several people being injured and at least four people shot.
Reports indicate that protests erupted over food and water shortages, with deteriorating conditions caused by reduced humanitarian aid following funding cuts.
This has created many problems for households who have been unable to fetch water for several days. Some pipes located on upper floors are not receiving enough water, forcing some neighborhoods to travel five to six hundred meters to access water. Several boreholes are currently not operational, and the seasonal river (laga) has washed away more than hundreds of meters of pipes that were supporting some blocks. These challenges are also affecting the "mama mboga" (vegetable vendors) who cultivate and provide vegetable foods in the markets, creating alarming conditions as they cry for help.
This crisis coincides with Kakuma refugee camp experiencing another program that has raised critical issues: differentiated assistance, which categorizes refugees into different groups. Those in categories 3 and 4 will not receive any food assistance.
People are now asking: "Without water and food, how do these humanitarian agencies expect us to live in this arid zone?”
The implementation of the Differentiated Assistance Framework continues to face resource constraints, requiring adjustments to the originally planned rollout timeline of May 2025. These constraints have impacted food rations, services, and livelihood investments under the Framework. World Food Programme (WFP) remains engaged with the Government and key stakeholders to refine timelines and implementation strategies.
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