Three counties to benefit from Sh80m child protection programme
Some 8,264 children have been listed to benefit from the scheme.
Embu is among three counties benefitting from an $800,000 (about Sh80 million) social protection programme targeting children aged three and below.
Universal Child Benefits is also being tried in Kisumu and Kajiado counties to improve health, nutrition and education for children living in extreme poverty.
Unicef, in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and Save the Children, is involved in the 12-month trial.
Embu, Kisumu and Kajiado had the highest number of children aged below three, said Peter Ombasa, an official with the Ministry of Public Service, at a media workshop in Embu.
Some 8,264 children have been listed to benefit from the scheme, whose piloting will end in December.
Each child will get Sh800 through their families for food and other necessities to help improve their health, nutrition and education, said Richard Obiga, a senior programme officer in the ministry.
Parents must provide birth certificates for their children, who should be below three years old at the time of registration and be Kenyan citizens by birth.
In Embu, Unicef, WFP and Save the Children are targeting children from Riandu, Nthawa, Gitiburi and Thura villages in the arid Mbeere North constituency, where poverty is widespread.
The programme prioritises the poorest children.
The organisations said in their presentations that children from poor backgrounds usually struggle to survive.
They noted that falling into poverty during childhood could have lasting effects.
Universal Child Benefits (UCB) also targets areas hit hard by Covid-19 pandemic.
“As the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic hits children hardest, the time for a renewed focus on UCB cash benefits paid to families with children is now. The UCB will ensure every child has a chance for a healthy and productive future,” Unicef said.
Every child, Unicef said, has a right to social protection as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It noted that children with no access to cash support suffer and this prevents them from fulfilling their potential.
Cash transfers are a proven practical intervention to address poverty among children, it said.
This programme will also provide counselling and training on nutrition to children’s caregivers.
All children nationally will be eligible for the programme by 2030, if UCB succeeds, the organisations involved said.
They noted that investing in children has high returns and boosts human capital development and economic growth.
Apart from providing the beneficiaries with bimonthly cash transfers of Sh800 per child, UCB will also cater for nutrition, child protection and disability-and gender-sensitive complimentary services.
