This archive report was first published on 11 June 2020.
On June 11, 2020, the European Union (EU) announced a Ksh 600 million (Euro 5 million) grant to feed at least 800,000 slum dwellers in Nairobi for the next three months.
The EU, in partnership with Oxfam, the Kenyan Red Cross Society, Concern Worldwide, ACTED, IMPACT, the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness, and the Wangu Kanja Foundation, will provide monthly cash transfers to 20,000 households living in informal settlements across Nairobi.
According to a rapid food assessment conducted in April by a consortium of NGOs, an estimated 30 percent of Kenyans living in Nairobi's informal settlements are experiencing severe hunger in the household.
Speaking during the signing ceremony at KICC, European Union Ambassador for Kenya, Simon Mordue, said the EU is contributing Ksh 35 billion to Kenya's response to COVID-19, while EU Member States have already provided more than Ksh 3.3 billion (EUR 30 million).
“The EU is standing with Kenya during this difficult time, providing a lifeline through cash transfers for the worst affected people in Nairobi's urban informal settlements, including women, the elderly and persons with disabilities,” he noted.
The cash transfer will be through mobile money transfer and will complement the Ministry of Labour's Inua Jamii programme, with 11,250 households receiving KES 5,668 per month and 8,750 households receiving KES 7,668 per month.
Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said the funds will increase the purchasing power of vulnerable groups in the country and inject more liquidity in the economy.
“In a bid to cushion vulnerable Kenyans against the adverse effects of the Coronavirus, the government disbursed 7.8 billion shillings under the cash transfer programme. The fund needs an allocation of more than 5 billion shillings during this year's budget for efficiency and expand to more than the current 21 counties,” he said.
Oxfam Kenya's Humanitarian Director, Mat Cousins, said Kenya has long been a leader in providing cash-based safety nets, and this project builds upon the work by Oxfam and partners in the Urban Early Warning Early Action consortium to improve food security and nutrition for households made vulnerable by COVID-19.
“Solidarity between nations and the most vulnerable in our societies is the only way Covid-19 can be defeated. By mobilizing resources quickly, the European Union has shown its commitment to working in partnership with the people of Kenya, government authorities, civil society and affected communities. This whole of society approach will save lives,” Cousins said.
