Page 18 - Aidlink AR 2021

KENYA
COUNTRY PROFILE
& PROGRAMMES
Country Profile
Despite positive economic, social and political developments in Kenya in recent years, poverty, inequality and the extreme impact of climate change remain as major challenges. The Covid-19 crisis and ensuing lockdowns has severely impacted the Kenyan economy, eroding much of the progress made in the fight against poverty over the last decade.
At the end of 2021, 16% of Kenya’s population were living below the poverty line on less than $1.90 US Dollars per day, most of whom live in the remote Arid and Semi-Arid regions (ASAL) regions, including Turkana County and Kajiado County.
16%
Increase
on 2020 total spend
Total spend
delivering programmes to some of the most vulnerable people in Kenya
2020 €434,261
2021 €505,240
Aidlink’s work targets the Masai and Turkana living in these ASAL regions. These communities are among the poorest and most marginalised people in Kenya. Both the Masai and Turkana are nomadic pastoralists and rely on their cattle for survival. In 2021, the devastating impact of climate change continued to ravage these counties, particularly Turkana, where the worst drought in decades prevails. Drought, which previously occured every 10-15 years has occured annually for the last four years, decimating the livelihoods of the already vulnerable communities.
On 8 September 2021, Kenyan Government declared a national emergency in the wake of two consecutive poor rainy seasons in the ASAL regions.
At the time of writing, a fourth season of failed rains leaves 3.5 million people, including 542,000 children, food insecure and suffering from acute malnutrition in the country.
Covid-19 and the ongoing severe drought have compounded the challenges experienced by girls from Kajiado and Turkana. Both the Masai and Turkana are patriarchal, polygamist societies, with women and girls often limited to domestic roles and denied ownership of livestock and property.
Aidlink Annual Report 2021 | 16