Memorandum submitted by Save The Children
UK, Kenya
(SUBMISSION TO DFID KENYA AS PART OF
DFID KENYA'S CONSULTATION ON ITS COUNTRY ASSISTANCE PLAN 2004-07)
In general the Country Assistance Plan is a
very comprehensive document and has highlighted the critical areas
that Government of Kenya needs support in.
DfID's analysis of the challenges facing Kenya
as a country and the emphasis it places on supporting the Economic
Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS) is
commendable. The ERS is based on the concept of democracy and
empowerment and seeks to provide the atmosphere for Kenyans to
work to be productive and improve their standards of living. SC
UK believes that the ERS in its present form does not fully address
nor does it prioritise/highlight processes to bridge the inequalities
in accessing means of production for many poor people in Kenya.
Nor does it commit to effective pro-poor policies. We therefore
welcome DfID's commitment to support government of Kenya further
develop and implement the ERS, and see this as very good opportunity
to shape the development of Kenya.
Critical areas that SC feels need to be incorporated
into the CAP which will later influence and give depth to the
ERS are:
1. The CAP should include a strong commitment
for policies that address childhood and youth poverty within the
broader poverty reduction efforts and the recognition of the critical
role of childhood wellbeing in human development, and as a tool
for breaking the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Children
in Kenya represent a little over 50% of the total population.
Of the 56% of the population living below the poverty line, children
represent 8.6 million people. A policy that intends to eradicate
poverty must address the social and economic factors affecting
childhood poverty. This approach is further supported by the devastating
impact of HIV/AIDS in all spheres of the economy and its special
impact on children.
Globally, DfID is funding SC UK to undertake
two major research programmes on childhood poverty, "Young
Lives", which is monitoring 12,000 children over a period
of 15 years in four countries; and the Childhood Poverty Research
Policy Centre which is focusing on intergenerational poverty cycles
and ways of breaking them. DfID will be in a position to share
not only the lessons learnt from this study with government of
Kenya, but will also be in a position to support government with
the tools to make this effective. DfID can influence Government
of Kenya through the Young Lives project to see childhood poverty
as a critical policy area and to monitor and evaluate impact on
children. This would also be in line with the current World Bank
consultations on a children and youth strategy to fight poverty,
reduce inequity and promote human development.
2. Another area that needs emphasis in the
CAP and subsequently in the ERS is commitment to the Millennium
Development Goals and strategies to progressively achieve them.
To this end we would encourage DfID to continue to support government
set up the comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework for
the ERS to incorporate benchmarks for assessing progress on the
MDG and child poverty, and to support government implement and
monitor ERS at district level as part of its support to good governance.
SC UK appreciates DfID's commitment to the fight
against HIV/AIDS, and its commitment to support the development
of a viable policy framework.
SC UK Kenya with financial support from DfID
has undertaken a longitudinal research on the impact of HIV/AIDS
on children in both rural and urban settings. Preliminary findings
from our research shows that a family's income is decreased by
30-50%; and families increasingly depend on remittances (5-15%)
to meet their basic requirements when one member of a household
affected by HIV/AIDS falls sick. Families expenditure patterns
change, spending more on health care (up to 300%), less on buying
cheaper food, there is also a general reduction in the expenditure
on other household items. The families drop out of the social
groups and there is a restructuring of the responsibilities in
the household, with a greater burden falling on children. We would
therefore also encourage DfID to support the fight against HIV/AIDS
from the grassroots, in helping government and NSA develop appropriate
policies and guidelines for interventions at the household level.
In conclusion, SC UK endorses DfID's support
to governance and public sector reforms. In supporting the Police
Force, SC would encourage DfID to address areas of training on
human/child rights and gender as part of the Police Force training
curricula. Another possible area needing strengthening is the
Department of Children's Services (DCS) under the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MOHA) to effectively implement the Children Act,
and identify appropriate interventions for children.
SC UK agrees that a re-worked ERS should be
at the centre of DfID's support to Government of Kenya and that
a SWAps would greatly enhance government's ability to meet its
objectives. We also believe that the ERS/SWAps will contribute
to growth of governance and democracy when effectively linked
with the national budget and all sectors of the Kenyan economy.
February 2004
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