Kenya

Overview

Kenya is the economic engine and anchor of stability in East Africa. Its strong private sector, infrastructure, and financial services contribute significantly to growth in the region. Kenya's diplomatic and peacekeeping efforts also reinforce its role as a regional stabilizer.

However, recent instability in Kenya itself due to an internal conflict arising from the disputed 2007 elections has been devastating. The post-election violence had a particularly high impact on the educational system, as schools were destroyed or turned into camps for internally displaced persons. Students and teachers were themselves displaced, and many lost weeks or months of classes.

The instability also took a toll on the Kenyan economy, which suffered a reduction in commodity exports and a sharp drop in tourism. The country's frequent droughts have also contributed to food insecurity in certain regions. Yet the country's vibrant private sector and growing middle class can both help to fuel ongoing economic growth.

While a power-sharing agreement brokered in 2008 has helped resolve some of the conflict―notably through reforms to Kenya's legal and political institutions―progress could still be derailed. Kenya's ability to achieve lasting prosperity depends on the country's commitment to improving governance. With Kenya's strong civil society and independent media, the country has great potential for progress.

Kenya ranks 143 out of 187 countries on the United Nations Development Programme's 2011 human development index. Although one out of five Kenyans is living on less than US$1.25/day, the country is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals for universal primary education and gender parity in education.

Thematic Focus

CIDA's programming in Kenya is closely aligned with Kenya's new long-term national planning strategy, officially known as Kenya Vision 2030 (PDF, abridged version, 3 MB, 32 pages).

The goal of CIDA's program is to help Kenya secure a future for children and youth by improving primary education and strengthen democratic governance by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector.

Children and youth

CIDA continues to improve access to quality primary education in Kenya by building new classrooms and helping Kenyan students complete primary school, mainly in the most disadvantaged areas of the country, where dropout rates are highest.

Democratic governance

CIDA focuses on improving public sector financial management, accountability and service delivery. Canada is continuing to help Kenya reform its public service by sharing its public service model and expertise.

Democratic governance is one of the Government of Canada's priority themes for international assistance and is one of CIDA's cross-cutting themes.

Progress on Aid Effectiveness

Kenya adheres to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (PDF, 317 KB, 23 pages). There has been considerable progress in implementing aid effectiveness principles, particularly donor harmonization through the Kenya Joint Assistance Strategy for 2007-2012 (PDF, 7.4 MB, 105 pages), which was signed by 17 bilateral donors, including Canada, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the United Nations. This strategy also aligns with the Government of Kenya's Vision 2030, indicating local ownership.

Accomplishments 2009-2010

Children and youth

• Helped develop a policy on equality between women and men at the Ministry of Education to ensure that girls have a safe and secure environment for learning
• Helped develop a national assessment of student achievement to provide information to improve the quality of teaching and learning in primary schools
• Contributed to increasing the primary school completion rate from 79.5 percent in 2008 to 82 percent in 2009, bringing Kenya closer to the national target of 90 percent by 2015
• Supported 2,500 public primary schools in completing report cards, enabling parents, teachers and students to assess school management and demand better quality education

Democratic governance

• Helped the Interim Independent Electoral Commission reform the electoral process using short message service, or text messaging, at polling stations and registering more than 12.5 million voters, leading to a peaceful vote for a new constitution
• Helped train more than 2,800 public servants in performance contract evaluations

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