JOINT REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT MISSION FOR THE KENYA SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INCUSION PROJECT (KSEIP)
The Principal Secretary, State Department for the ASALs and Regional Development, PS Kello Harsama alongside Social Protection and Senior Citizens Affairs PS, Joseph Motari ,joined partners in a collaborative mission to review and support the implementation of the Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Project (KSEIP), a five-year World Bank-funded project that aims at strengthening delivery systems for enhanced access to social and economic inclusion services and shock-responsive safety nets for poor and vulnerable households.
The development objective of the Social and Economic Inclusion Project for Kenya is to strengthen delivery systems for enhanced access to social and economic inclusion services and shock-responsive safety nets for poor and vulnerable households. It has three components.
First component, Strengthening Social Protection Delivery Systems will support the enhancement of the existing Social Protection (SP) delivery systems established under the ongoing National Safety Net Program (NSNP) and will aim to further consolidate the Consolidated Cash Transfer Program (CCTP) 25 under the State Department of Social Protection (SDSP), and Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) under the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), within a consistent and coherent delivery system.
Second component, Increasing Access to Social and Economic Inclusion Interventions will contribute to the Government of Kenya (GoK’s) goal of universal health coverage by establishing and supporting a functional referral mechanism to improve NSNP beneficiaries access to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and expand nutrition-sensitive safety net services to additional counties;
The third component, Improving the Shock Responsiveness of Safety Net System will support the NDMA to expand HSNP coverage and improve the shock responsiveness of the safety net system, including financing arrangements for timely support to vulnerable households affected by climate induced risks.
The Hunger Safety Net Programme has made a remarkable and significant progress in the disbursement frequency by successfully transitioning from bi-monthly to monthly payments to meet the immediate needs of beneficiaries facing acute food insecurity. The PS applauded the National Treasury for timely and predictable payments this fiscal year.
With World Bank support, HSNP has acquired an Enterprise Resource Planning system for National Drought Management Authority, reaching its first milestone in December 2023. Application begins in February 2024, fully operational by July 2024. This is in addition to developing a Management Information System for HSNP.
The Authority is fostering proactive data sharing with partners for effective social protection and synergy towards effective and efficient service delivery.
The State Department for the ASALs and Regional Development has taken cognizant of the partner’s efforts in supplementing government initiatives, contributing significantly to the realization of its BETA agenda.