Poverty is a big threat to the family unit, Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has said.
“You must have seen an upsurge of chaos at the family level in the last few weeks. it is not an easy time for families," the CS said.
Yatani made the remarks on Wednesday while marking the International Day of the Family in Nairobi.
He said many families are living below the poverty line. Yatani said cases of people being abandoned in hospitals because of family issues are on the rise.
"Street families, destitute families, child-headed families, which were unheard of in African families, have now become the norm," the CS said.
Yatani said there is a breakdown in the societal social cultural order.
According to the global human index of 2018, Kenya was ranked among 45 countries out of 119 in the world that are still grappling with food insecurity.
In 2016, homicide rates in Kenya were at 4.9 cases per 100,000 population and they are on the rise.
Child marriages and female genital mutilation are also considered serious challenges to the family. Yatani said child abuse cases are high, only that some cases are not reported.
"The figures are an understatement, those are only reported cases... how many cases are not reported?" the CS asked.
Yatani said the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has drafted a new children’s bill that is on its final stages. There is a new national council for children services, the CS said.
Yatani launched the Street Families Trust Fund. It is meant for rescuing and rehabilitating street families.
The CS said beneficiaries for the cash transfer programme in the family unit have risen from 400,000 to at least 1.3 million. The cash has increased from Sh6 billion annually to Sh26 billion.
Yatani said unless the family is nurtured together, the society will face unintended consequences.
