Kenya, UNICEF, World Bank unveil Nutrition Improvement Through Cash and Health Education programme in 11 counties

NICHE programme is designed to improve the nutritional status of children below the age of three years as well as pregnant women and will rolled out in Isiolo, Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Samburu, Turkana, Marsabit, West Pokot, Kitui, Kilifi and Tana River.

NICHE programme is funded by the World Bank, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and the Government of Kenya, with UNICEF providing technical assistance.

The programme that was initially piloted in Kitui, West Pokot, Turkana, Marsabit and Kilifi in 2021 was hailed as having a huge impact on the lives of children, and expectant and lactating mothers who hail from humble backgrounds and is expected to have a similar impact in the six newly-added counties.

Speaking in Isiolo yesterday during the programme launch for the six additional counties, the National Government’s Director of Children Services Mary Goretti Mogaka who represented the Principal Secretary, State Department of Social Protection Joseph Motari said that apart from robust nutritional education that will be conducted by Community Health Promoters across the villages, households that are covered by the “Inua Jamii” and the Hunger Safety Net Programme will receive an additional sum of either Ksh.500 or Ksh.1,000 per month, depending on the number of children, expectant or lactating mothers in the particular household.

She noted that the choice of counties where the programme is being implemented was informed by the levels of malnutrition and stunting in the region, in comparison to data from other parts of Kenya, as the various stakeholders seek to cushion vulnerable populations from the effects of extreme poverty and diseases, through cash transfer to targeted households, training/nutritional counselling and child protection services.

Isiolo Deputy Governor Dr James Lowasa hailed the rollout as a major game changer in the upbringing of children from needy households in the region, noting that it was imperative for all stakeholders to ensure that the nutritional needs of all children during the first 36 months which define how the child will perform later in life are met.

He further pointed out that the NICHE Programme also has a component of positive parenting, which will go a long way towards guiding parents on how best to raise their children for the benefit of the entire society.

Eduarda Mendonca Gray, the Deputy Development Director at the British High Commission to Kenya said that the British Government has financially supported the NICHE programme with Four Million Pounds to ensure that its objectives are met.

She noted that NICHE was just an element of the broader social protection programme that the Government of the UK has been supporting since 2007, including the Hunger Safety Net Programme, to the tune of 116 Million Pounds, targeting 133,000 households with cash transfers.

Jennifer Musangi, a Community health promoter from Kitui County where the NICHE Programme was initially piloted said that vulnerable households in the county have undergone a visible transformation in the manner in which they raise their children, courtesy of the robust engagement of community health promoters to conduct nutritional education/counselling as well as the cash transfer.

She said that there was a need to scale up the programme in all counties, to reach out to other needy families across the republic of Kenya.

Dr George Kinyanjui, Social Policy Specialist with UNICEF Kenya, emphasized the need to invest in the early years of a child, as this has a direct impact on human development.

He underscored UNICEF’s commitment to continue supporting the Government in rolling out the programme to ensure maximum impact for children.

He called on stakeholders to concentrate efforts towards alleviating childhood malnutrition given the huge returns the country could gain in the future.