• The programme aims to reach 23,500 families in five years to improve nutrition, protect children and reduce poverty.
• It will provide cash top-ups, which are known to effectively alleviate poverty by allowing parents to decide what their children need most.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under two years from 23,500 poor families in five counties will benefit from cash transfers to fight malnutrition and reduce poverty.
The cash to be distributed in a new project, Nutrition Improvement for Children through Cash and Health Education, will also help fight violence against children.
NICHE is part of the UK-funded component of the World Bank’s Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Project. The programme will be implemented in five years.
Five counties – Marsabit, Kitui, Kilifi, Turkana and West Pokot – will benefit from the project.
It targets vulnerable families who already receive cash transfers through the government’s National Safety Net Programme.
The programme will provide cash top-ups, which are known to effectively alleviate poverty by allowing parents to decide what their children need most, such as food, medicine or clothes.
It will also include intensive counselling on nutrition and health through an existing network of community health volunteers, covering issues such as the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for children under six months old, maternal nutrition and vitamin supplementation.
The five counties where the programme will be implemented were selected based on their high rates of deprivation and child malnutrition.
A memorandum of understanding for the implementation of the project has already been signed by the Labour Ministry, the Health ministry, the National Drought Management Authority and the beneficiary counties.
“We are aiming to improve the wellbeing of children, from conception up until their second birthday, a period which is crucial for human development,” Labour CS Simon Chelugui said.
“We thank our fellow government ministries and the county governments for the collaboration which underpins these efforts. We are grateful for the technical assistance provided by Unicef,” he said.
Unicef will provide technical assistance to the government for the NICHE programme at national and county levels.
Unicef representative to Kenya Maniza Zaman said, “Every child in Kenya has the right to grow up healthy and free from violence and poverty.”
“Cash transfer programmes, with the added components of family and community-level education and empowerment on how to improve nutrition, health and well-being of children, are known to be impactful.”
Research by the Institute of Development Studies and Unicef shows that combining cash transfers with social programmes has a more powerful effect than implementing either alone.
“Children with malnutrition are often from families that face a range of economic and health problems. An integrated response is key to securing positive behaviour change in the long and the short term,” Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said.
Over the last 10 years, Kenya has reduced the rate of stunting where children under five are too small for their age from 35 per cent in 2008-09 to 26 per cent in 2014.
Wasting, where children are too thin for their height, has reduced from seven per cent to four per cent over the same time period.
Despite this promising national outlook, regional disparities persist.
Stunting in the five beneficiary counties stands at 46 per cent in West Pokot and Kitui, 39 per cent in Kilifi, 27 per cent in Marsabit and 24 per cent in Turkana.
National Drought Management Authority CEO James Oduor said during disasters caused by droughts, floods or other hazards, children are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition.
“This programme will provide a safety net to cushion beneficiary families, especially from health and nutrition related negative impacts,” he said.
Child protection is also a pressing issue. The 2019 Violence Against Children Survey demonstrated that one in two young adults in Kenya experienced violence as a child.
In Kilifi, the programme will focus on child protection, providing parenting sessions to prevent violence at home and training for parents who are fostering children.
A pilot for the NICHE programme was first implemented in Kitui by the county government, the national government, the European Union and Unicef between March 2017 and June 2018.
An impact evaluation showed it led to improvements in areas such as rates of exclusive breastfeeding, the quality of children’s and mothers’ diets, and the prevalence of childhood illnesses like diarrhoea.
“Since Covid-19 hit Kenya, many families have lost income and children’s nutrition is suffering. The NICHE programme will help give families reliable access to food, and bolster their nutrition knowledge, helping to keep children safe during the pandemic,” Council of Governors chairman Martin Wambora said.
Edited by A.N