NAIROBI, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President William Ruto on Tuesday reiterated his administration's commitment to expanding safety nets for vulnerable populations, including the elderly, children, persons with disability, youth, and women.
Speaking at the 2023 Kenya Social Protection Conference taking place in the capital Nairobi, Ruto said a supportive policy and legislative framework is already in place, to facilitate investments in safety nets tailor-made for the poor and marginalized citizens grappling with multiple shocks.
"In line with our economic transformation agenda that is people-centric, the government will allocate sufficient resources to ensure that vulnerable citizens have access to food, decent shelter, affordable health, safe drinking water, and education for their children," Ruto said.
The meeting, held under the theme of "Accelerating Inclusive and Integrated Social Protection System in Kenya: Strategies for Expansion of Coverage and Improved Shock Responsiveness", is discussing best practices that would strengthen the protection of vulnerable groups grappling with poverty, the climate crisis and COVID-19 aftershocks.
Among participants at the forum that will conclude with a call for action to reshape social protection in Kenya includes senior policymakers, representatives of multilateral lenders, industry, academia, and civil society.
While acknowledging that 16 percent of Kenyans live below the poverty line while 26 percent of the country's children are stunted amid acute malnutrition, Ruto said investing in cash transfer programs, nutrition, primary healthcare, education, and shelter, will be key to improving their welfare.
In addition, Ruto said the government has allocated 20 billion Kenyan shillings (150 million U.S. dollars) to cater for food, nutrition, water, sanitation, and health services for arid and semi-arid communities affected by a prolonged drought season.
The Kenyan leader disclosed that from June this year, the government will be disbursing funds to cushion the poor, elderly, and vulnerable citizens from shocks ahead of salaries for civil servants.
Ruto added that a strategic partnership with multilateral lenders and industry has injected vitality into national social safety net programs tailor-made for vulnerable members of society.
Cabinet Secretary For Labor And Social Protection Florence Bore said the government has adopted a pragmatic approach to ensure marginalized groups, including the disabled, migrants, and jobless youth, are cushioned from economic and social exclusion.
According to Bore, investing in social safety nets for 20 million citizens described as vulnerable will be key to realizing inclusive growth, cohesion, peace, and stability in the country. ■