Funding gap hits humanitarian programmes in Kenya: report
Unicef is looking to fill a gap of Sh15.9 billion ($109.1 million) to facilitate its interventions in marginalised communities in Kenya, including women and children, according to a new report.
The Unicef report dubbed “Humanitarian Situation Report” shows that as at June 2023, the organisation had received Sh4.2 billion ($28.4 million) for critical life-saving and protective interventions for families in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), urban informal settlements and in refugee settlements in the country, translating to 21 percent of the required Sh20.1 billion ($137.5 million).
Read: Global supply shocks fuel new food crisis in Kenya
HIV/Aids recorded the biggest funding gap having failed to receive any amount from the donors and being forced to use resources carried over from 2022 despite its high prevalence that requires prompt intervention.
Kenya has a total funding gap of Sh11 billion, meant to procure essential HIV commodities for the 2021-2022 financial year.
The country has experienced inconsistency in the supply of HIV commodities, including ARVs and testing kits, putting the lives of the more than 1.4 million people living with the disease at risk.
Other sectors that presented worrying funding gaps include the health sector and social protection which received 11 percent each of their required amounts.
Water, sanitation, and hygiene are still facing a lot of funding challenges with a funding gap of 87 percent having received only Sh701 million against the required Sh5.4 billion.
The damning figures highlight the struggles the organisation is facing to meet the basic needs of the vulnerable population and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential, further challenging the Ministry of Health’s ambitious plan to offer its citizens universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030.
UHC aims to ensure that all Kenyans access and receive essential quality health services, including promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative health services without suffering financial hardship.
“Lack of sufficient funding for the procurement of supplies and service delivery remains a key challenge.
Up to $28.4 million has been received against the Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) 2023, leaving a funding gap of $109.1 million (79 percent) against the $137.5 million requirement.
More than 800,000 people have been reached with lifesaving and protective humanitarian interventions (28 percent against the 2.9 million HAC target),” Unicef said in the report.
The report further indicates that the country is experiencing the impacts of the severe 2020-2023 Horn of Africa drought due to five consecutive failed rainy seasons, at the same time responding to disease outbreaks including cholera as well as the need to respond to the increased refugee influx, calling for an intensified multi-agency preparedness.
As of February 2023, 4.4 million people were facing acute food insecurity and needed urgent assistance representing an increase of nearly one million people from the 3.5 million people identified the previous year.
Similarly, the refugee and asylum-seeker population in the country stood at 599,120 people by April 30, 2023, up from 573,508 people by the end of December 2022, signifying an increase of 25,612 new arrivals, which is attributable to the Horn of Africa drought and insecurity.
Despite the huge numbers, food rations for refugees have been cut to 80 percent of their usual amount, due to funding constraints, significantly impacting food security.
To help cushion the hunger-stricken nation, Kenya in March 2023 spent Sh1.2 billion on relief food across the country, while the private sector-led National Steering Committee on Drought Response also distributed relief food worth Sh450 million in the 23 ASAL counties under the 'Wakenya Tulindane' Initiative.
The ASALs have been the focus of non-state actors trying to bring development to the local communities, from fighting disease outbreaks to providing food, water, hygiene, and sanitation, to poverty alleviation.
The Unicef Kenya’s humanitarian response against the HAC 2023 and the 2023 Inter-Agency Drought Response Plan received aid from the Government of Japan, the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), The United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), United States Fund for Unicef, the German Federal Foreign Office, the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the German Committee for Unicef, the Unicef Global Thematic Fund and the Central Emergency Response Fund.
Read: Hunger, poverty most pressing challenges
“Unicef and implementing partners are supporting 2,468 integrated health and nutrition outreaches in the ASALs. As part of risk-informed programming, Unicef continued to support 520 health facilities in 10 arid counties in the implementation of the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) surge approach, which is a system-strengthening approach to cope with surges of acute malnutrition and avoid compromise in quality of care," read the report in parts.
However, the funding situation continues to deteriorate with the dwindling donor support that has seen the private organisations struggle to keep going as donors announce halting financial aid. BY BUSINESS DAILY
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