Nairobi, June 30 -- Every time floods wash away roads, drought decimates livestock or disease outbreaks strike, Kenya spends billions of shillings responding to the crisis.

But where does that money come from? The bulk of it has come after disasters have already struck, through emergency budget reallocations, supplementary budgets, donor appeals and humanitarian assistance.

The National Treasury is planning to change that model going forward. Through Disaster Risk Financing Strategy 2026-2030, it promises a policy shift from reacting to disasters to preparing financially before they happen.

The strategy affects not just mandarins at the Treasury, but every Kenyan taxpayer because disasters are increasingly threatening economic growth, ...