Cash transfers in Kenya(Hunger Safety Net Programme, Kenya)

Brief summary This is an unconditional cash transfer programme in Kenya. It offers an alternative to food aid and aims to reduce poverty and food insecurity. It aims to allow people to hold onto their assets and even to save money in the future.

Who are we helping? Phase 1 reached 496,800 poor and marginalised people, including those in later life Phase 2 is reaching 720,000 poor and marginalised people, including those in later life

Where are we doing it? Four counties in northern Kenya: Turkana, Marsabit, Mandera and Wajir

When will the programme run? Phase 1 = April 2007 – March 2012 Phase 2 = July 2012 – June 2017

Who is the programme funded by and for what amount of money? Department of International Aid (DFID) and Australian Aid (AusAID) £40.5 million for the whole programme. HelpAge is responsible for just one element for which

the budget is £6 million over 5 years. We receive funding from DFID.

Why are we doing this project? What are the main problems this project addresses? In Kenya, 43 per cent of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day. Despite a booming tourism industry and relative economic growth in recent years, Kenya remains a “low human development country” and ranks 143 out of 187 countries in the UN Human Development Index, which measures development in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment and standard of living.

Some 78 per cent of the population live in rural areas which includes the majority of poor people. It is estimated that 55 per cent of the urban population live in slums, including high numbers of older people. The gap between rich and poor in Kenya is one of the world’s greatest.

There are 1.68m older people in Kenya (4.2 per cent of the population). More than half of those aged over 60 live in absolute poverty, and people aged 56 and above are the poorest age group in the country.

Turkana (north-west of Kenya) is one of the poorest regions in the country: almost 95 per cent of people there live in poverty and fewer than one in ten older people receive any kind of pension. This is partly because the vast majority of Kenya’s poor people work in the informal sector (i.e. shining shoes; selling fruit and veg on the side of the road) and so any kind of tax or national insurance is difficult to collect. The government lacks financial resources to make regular payments.

Since the start of phase 2, the government has made steps to address the needs of poor and marginalised people. In July 2013 Kenya’s National Safety Net Programme (NSNP) was approved. The NSNP provides a framework around which the five principal cash transfer programmes in Kenya, including the HSNP, can be coordinated and progressively harmonised.

What are we doing to address the problems?We are working with the Kenyan government to implement a cash transfer programme for the poorest 720,000 Kenyans in Turkana, Mandera, Wajir and Marsabit. Working with the Kenyan government, we aim to establish cash transfers (social protection) as an entitlement, which in turn gives legal obligations on the part of the state. We support people to open bank accounts and receive their bank cards. We are responsible for the ‘grievance reprisal service’ – a mechanism that allows people to complain if they have problems with the programme. It is the government’s responsibility to resolve these complaints, and we are strengthening the government’s capacity to do so. This mechanism also allows people to raise broader human rights violations cases that are related to or affect the programme delivery.

The impact of the programme so far has been positive. Households receiving support are spending more on food and also buying a greater diversity of food which contributes to improved nutritional health and wellbeing. A significant proportion of older people are spending their cash transfers on their grandchildren’s education – spending money on school uniforms, school exams, books and pens - thus ensuring that more grandchildren are able to go back to school. Additionally, older people are able to retain livestock and other possessions because they’re not forced to sell them for cash. This has a significant impact because it allows them a means of generating income. Older people are able to breed the livestock and sell them on for a profit or sell the products they generate, for example, the milk.

What are the main activities?Phase 1

Training 1,790 Rights Committee members from 163 sub-locations on social protection Raising awareness of the rights of beneficiaries Development of the Programme Charter of Rights and Responsibilities (PCRR) Engaging statutory bodies and providing them with the means to offer effective and

accessible grievance mechanisms Training local officials to run an effective cash transfer programme

Phase 2 Distribution of cash transfers (managed by other actors, not HelpAge) Mainstreaming of human rights principles into all HSNP components and adapted by other

local and national service providers Establishment of effective statutory complaints and redress mechanisms Formation and strengthening of rights committees to disseminate information on the

programme (including raising awareness of people’s right to social protection), collect and channel grievances to the government and report back resolutions to beneficiaries

Producing lessons to influence social protection throughout Kenya and internationally.

How are we doing it? HelpAge is responsible for the Social Protection Rights component of the HSNP. In Turkana, work is implemented directly by HelpAge. In the other counties (Marsabit, Mandera and Wajir) the programme is implemented through HelpAge’s local partners. The other implementing partners in HSNP are:

• National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) – HSNP Programme Management and Coordination

• Financial Services Deepening Trust (FSD) - Payment Service Manager • Equity Bank – Payment Service Provider

Other INGOs were also involved in earlier stages of the programme (e.g. registration): CARE Kenya, Oxfam GB, World Vision and Save the Children UK. What case studies exist already? There are a range of case studies on Flickr (Judith Escribano/Kenya, 2013), plus this case studyhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/helpageimages/13096236605/

Will we do communications work on this project?Yes

Is extra funding needed? If so, how much?No and N/A