A large proportion of eligible households remain uncovered by any form of social protection, data by the Labour ministry reveals.
According to the recently launched Kenya Social Protection Sector annual report 2018/19, at least two in every 5 Kenyans live below the poverty line.
This is despite the social protection programs reaching a great population of the poor population.
To counter this, the Ministry of Labour has launched the Social Protection Monitoring and Evaluation framework 2018-2022 to enhance coverage and streamline the delivery of services in the sector.
Launching the framework on Wednesday, Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said the framework will foster increased investments and coverage in social protection.
It is also set to strengthen linkages for data reporting and enhance county linkages to report and enhance coverage of social protection in line with the Kenya social protection policy.
“Implementation of this framework will bridge barriers and weak data linkages in the social protection sector by establishing stronger harmony and collaboration in reporting through the national social protection single registry system, interlinked to other stakeholders,” Chelugui said.
According to him, government endorsements agree that social protection is the best available option for uplifting the lives of the poor and vulnerable Kenyans.
The survey on the Social Protection sector also indicated that the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) coverage in Kenya in the year 2018/19 had a total membership enrollment at 9,146,684 principal members.
This translates to a total membership of 27 million contributors including dependants.
“NHIF coverage is at 25 per cent therefore 75 per cent of the population has no health cover,” the report said.
For NHIF subsidy programs, the total membership is at 1,791,526 with the highest number of beneficiaries under Linda Mama Program that accounts for 1.08 million registered expectant mothers.
Other programs cover 484,026 older persons aged 70 years plus, 42,000 people with special disabilities and 181,000 Orphaned and Vulnerable Children.
Similarly, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) covers 15 per cent of the population indicating that 85 per cent remain uncovered by the public pension scheme.
