Ensuring safety and well-being of the most vulnerable children

World Anti-FGM Students from various universities enact a play campaigning against the practice during the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, held at Kerio Valley Boys Secondary School in Elgeyo-Marakwet County on February 6, 2016. New generations of girls can be saved from this illegal and extremely harmful practice. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Persistent inequalities leave many more children and their families vulnerable to poverty and deprivation.
  • Many families are in need of food aid and the situation will worsen unless rain comes within a couple of weeks.

Violence. Neglect. Sexual exploitation. Child marriage. Female Genital Mutilation. As much as Kenya has made commendable progress in protecting children from different kinds of abuse, thousands still experience gross violations of their rights.

Unicef and the Embassy of Sweden have just concluded a 680km road trip from Nairobi via Garissa and Habaswein to Wajir to see the impact of drought on children and families and better understand how children can be better protected.

The importance of engaging with children and young people directly in order to stop violence against them, including ending female genital mutilation (FGM), was witnessed during talks with children in Habaswein, Wajir County.

As a young girl testified during our visit: “After being educated about my rights I started to speak out against FGM – these days I am not afraid to talk about it with my parents and within my community.”

INADEQUATE MONEY
Persistent inequalities leave many more children and their families vulnerable to poverty and deprivation.

The drought that has plagued big parts of the country has aggravated the situation.

Livestock have started to die due to lack of pasture. The national and county governments, in collaboration with donors and implementing partners, including Unicef, are scaling up support schemes, but funds are insufficient.

Many families are in need of food aid and the situation will worsen unless rain comes within a couple of weeks.

Counties have made strides in improving infrastructure and service delivery to mitigate the effects of drought.

In Habaswein, we visited one of many boreholes drilled by the county government to provide water to people and their livestock.

CASH TRANSFER

Unicef and Sweden are partnering with national and county governments to reduce vulnerabilities and deprivations for children through social protection, family social support and child protection.

In 2004, Kenya, with the support of Unicef, the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) and other international development partners, established the Cash Transfer Programme for Orphans and Vulnerable Children.

What started out with 500 beneficiaries, now expanded, reaches 365,232 households with a monthly support of Sh2,000.

It might not seem as much, but to families living below the poverty line, the cash transfers enable them to meet their basic needs.

Some 5,372 and 8,283 households in Garissa and Wajir counties, respectively, are benefitting from it.

PROTECTION CENTRES
In times of an emergency such as the drought, children are particularly vulnerable.

Many get separated from their families as parents leave their homes in search of water and pasture, while others are forced to fend for themselves.

There have also been reports of parents marrying their girls off in exchange for food or livestock.

Unicef and Sida have partnered to strengthen the government model of child protection centres, “one-stop” facilities that offer comprehensive services to abused children; victims of parental neglect; trafficking; harmful practices such as FGM or child marriage.

The child protection centres, led by the county-level Department of Children’s Services, are safe places where children and families receive shelter, counselling, parental education, legal support and referrals to medical, education or legal services.

When we visited the child protection centre in Garissa, we saw how families are educated to prevent and respond to violence through community outreach and awareness on child protection.

In Garissa and Wajir counties, the prevalence of FGM is at 94 per cent (compared to 21 per cent nationally, Kenya Demographic Health Survey, 2014).

IMPROVING LIVES

After listening to chiefs, elders, teachers and students, who have courageously taken an official stance against FGM and cooperate in preventing it, we believe that new generations of girls can be saved from this illegal and extremely harmful practice.

Unicef and Sweden will continue to work with the government to build a stronger legal, policy framework and systems for child and social protection and expand social safety nets to reach the most vulnerable.

If we consolidate our efforts we can make a difference in the lives of boys and girls to ensure they have a chance to fulfil their potential to the benefit of a better Kenya.

Mr Borgstam is Ambassador of Sweden, and Mr Schultink, the Unicef Representative in Kenya