Kenya

Why

In Kenya, 42% of new HIV infections are in adolescents aged 15 - 24. One in 5 adolescent girls is either pregnant or already has a child, with an estimated 330,000 girls becoming pregnant each year. Teen pregnancy and HIV are major drivers of adolescent mortality and result in a lifetime of missed education and employment. These problems are further compounded by inadequate investments in adolescent sexual and reproductive health programmes.

What

An innovative platform and related services that connects adolescent girls to sexual and reproductive health services and incentivizing them to seek care will be integrated in the national health system. By the end of the programme, an estimated 151,000 adolescents are expected to receive sexual and reproductive health services each year. In addition, the programme aims to provide over 25,000 HIV tests to adolescents each year, with a target of 97% of positive adolescents receiving treatment. In addition, the programme aims to connect adolescents to at least 300 health service providers, and train 500 healthcare workers in providing sexual and reproductive healthcare services to adolescents.

How

The programme will scale up the In Their Hands programme, an innovative digital platform that links adolescents with health services, allows them to rate service providers, and provides incentives for seeking care, including rewards points which can be redeemed at local retailers. A development impact bond will be used to transition In Their Hands from an international donor funded programme that provides access to primarily private healthcare service providers, to a sustainable government initiative that allows girls to seek care from both private and public service providers. This development impact bond, building on lessons learned from Kenya's first adolescent sexual and reproductive health development impact bond, aims to raise US$16 million to finance the scaling up and transition of the In Their Hands programme.

Results

A pilot development impact bond has provided the initial blueprint and budget for the digital services platform. The final structuring of a second development impact bond is ongoing along with an ambitious plan to integrate a result based scheme in the national health budget.

Universal Social Protection, Kenya

The programme brief description

Universal Social Protection is an innovative programme that supports Government of Kenya (GoK) move from a poverty-based targeting, that excludes 78% of vulnerable population to a more inclusive approach to social protection. It assists GoK to achieve the commitments captured in its recently updated Social Protection Policy. USP strengthen the enabling environment for greater integration of social protection with economic and social services and work with the GoK to create design options for fiscally affordable roll out of USP. The programme has a strong emphasis on Government leadership through engagement across several ministries. Through the SDG Partnership Platform, the programme will develop strategic linkages with relevant private sector stakeholders to explore financing options including more efficient use of current resources and options for greater engagement of private sector partners in the social protection landscape. USP efforts are aimed at facilitating the acceleration of progress towards achieving the SDGs in Kenya and will also make a strategic contribution towards the GoK’s National Big Four Agenda through the lens of Food Security.

Approach 

The Theory of Change for USP is based on the UNDAF results framework and consultations with the GoK, employer organizations and trade unions. USP will accelerate the existing work of the UNCT in support of UNDAF Outcome 2.6 and its corresponding outputs. Through intensifying efforts across a range of national social protection result areas and multiple targets across five SDGs, this programme seeks to address critical barriers to the realization of universal access to social protection in Kenya. It will do this through improving the enabling environment, developing evidence-based and gender responsive policy, strategies and legal frameworks with sustainable financing options that demonstrate that universal social protection is a valuable and achievable investment for the future of the country.

Target groups

The marginalised and vulnerable groups including women, children, girls, youth, persons with disabilities, older persons, rural workers, persons affected by (HIV/AIDs, Leprosy)