The government is undertaking a study on the changing family dynamics in Kenya.
The study by the National Council for Population and Development seeks to understand how the current extended family set up looks like, the size, networks and challenges and advise the government accordingly.
The research has been piloted in Murang’a and Kilifi counties, with the findings expected to be out by the end of the year once data analysis is completed.
The council's director general Sheikh Mohammed said the study was occasioned by the rapid change in the Kenyan family set up from the traditional model to now the western family lifestyle.
“Our extended family is shrinking, our social networks are reducing, so we are having cases where we have single families. We have cases where we have homeless families or families who have no homes, and there are street children,” Mohammed said.
“We just want to find out how our extended family looks like, how is the size of the family, and other networks within the family so that we can advise the government.”
Another key area of focus is the reproductive health issues affecting the youth, the elderly and the aged population.
Data by the NCPD shows that currently about 2.5 per cent of the population in Kenya (five million) is aged above 60 years, yet the reproductive health needs of this population have not been prioritised.
“Another area of focus is population health and environment because with the change in climate and with increased population, we are also seeing that there is a lot of change in environment,” the director general said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta in June sounded alarm over what he termed as an increase in single parent families in the country.
According to the President, the 2019 national census showed families headed by single parents rose from 25.1 per cent in 2009 to 38.2 per cent in 2019.
This, he said, is a threat to traditional values and the family.
A report by the National Census of Street Families released in 2021 showed there are more than 46, 600 street families in the country.
According to the report, a majority of the people living in the streets are aged between 10 and 34 years, with the highest concentration of street persons being in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Uasin Gishu.
Although the government, NGOs and some individuals have put in place various socioeconomic interventions over the years to minimise the presence of families in the streets, the problem has remained unresolved.
(edited by Amol Awuor)