Poll: Young people support calls for greater focus on children’s issues

Ahead of the General Election on Tuesday next week, young people have shared their views and called for stronger action on five priority issues for children. Over 42,000 people – 86 per cent of them aged between 15 and 30 – responded to the Yunitok opinion polls, which uses SMS text messaging to reach a wide audience. The polls ran from June to July 2022, and covered: enhancing education, primary healthcare, social protection, ending violence against children and climate change.

On enhancing education, 93 per cent of respondents to the Yunitok poll believed that the Internet was ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ important for doing well at school. Almost 40 per cent of respondents believed that connecting schools to the Internet was the most urgent thing to address, with another 33 per cent calling for teacher training to be prioritised. However, Internet connection in schools remains a challenge. Less than half (40 per cent) of parents confirmed that their children had access to Internet at school. Respondents also lacked confidence in their online skills, with less than a quarter of children and young people (24 per cent) considering their ability to use the Internet to be ‘excellent’. Overall, girls were less confident than boys. Internet connection in schools is seen by Unicef as an important way to give children the digital skills they need for the future workplace.

On primary healthcare, the highest percentage of respondents (45 per cent) correctly realised that the majority of children’s health needs (90 per cent) can be delivered locally. Almost 60 per cent of people surveyed confirmed that they had a health centre, hospital or dispensary close to where they live. However, many families struggle with costs. Among respondents, 86 per cent had struggled to pay for a medical service either for themselves or a family member. The majority of people surveyed (54 per cent) wanted to prioritise free health insurance, with another 30 per cent calling for an increase in overall health funding. According to UNICEF, primary and community healthcare help prevent ill health and deliver better care for children at a lower cost, with a return on investment close to 10 to one.

On social protection, there was clear support for expanding cash transfers, with 44 per cent of respondents citing monthly cash transfers as a ‘very effective’ way to reduce poverty, followed by 35 per cent saying ‘somewhat effective’. Almost two thirds of young people (64 per cent) said that food was the biggest financial burden for poor families and a similar proportion (67 per cent) that counties were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ important in providing for poor families. Yet the expectations on social protection spending far outweighed the reality. Almost half (46 per cent) of respondents thought the government spent 10 per cent or more of the national budget on social protection. This accounts for just 1.5 per cent of national spending, below many other lower-middle income countries. In Kenya, 13 million children need such assistance but just 7.5 per cent of these are receiving it. According to Unicef, cash transfers are one of the most effective ways of reducing poverty.

On ending violence against children, the Yunitok poll indicates that young people have a high perception of risk, with 40 per cent of respondents believing that 60 per cent of children in Kenya face violence. In fact, the correct figure is 51 per cent of children, as identified by 26 per cent of respondents. Most young people (84 per cent) understood that violence is an issue perpetrated in or close to home. The perception of risk was higher for girls and young women than for boys and men, a gender disparity that is also reflected in demand for services. The majority of respondents (65 per cent) called for greater public awareness and education of parents and children on ending violence.

Climate change is one of the top issues raised by children and young people. On this subject, 24 per cent of respondents correctly identified that Kenya ranks 49th out of 163 countries globally, in terms of the risks of climate change to children. The highest percentage (25 per cent) thought this was even higher at 24th out of 163. Over 78 per cent of respondents reported that wind and solar power were being used in their communities, although only 43 per cent used it themselves. In terms of solutions, the highest percentage (37 per cent) called for better government policies on climate change.

“These opinion poll results show that a majority of young people – including young voters – back calls for the next government to prioritise children’s issues,” Unicef Chief of Communication, Advocacy and Partnerships Andrew Brown said. “We are pleased to see that a number of political parties have also included the same issues in their manifestos. Unicef will be ready to support the next government to implement the pledges made for children, including on the early years, enhancing education, primary healthcare, social protection, ending violence and climate change.”

For the full opinion poll results, or to sign up to Yunitok, visit here.