Universal Child Benefit: A Lifeline for Kenyan Families

By OMBOKI MONAYO

Nairobi, Kenya – In the arid landscapes of Kenya’s Kajiado South County, the scars of drought still linger. Lucy, a local resident, recalls the harrowing experiences of 2022 when her community faced severe food shortages and livestock losses. “It was a struggle to survive,” she shares. “We were barely able to feed our families.”
Moses Partoti, another resident, echoes Lucy’s sentiments. “Livestock prices plummeted during the drought,” he remembers. “A goat could barely fetch Kes500.”

For Lucy and Moses, and countless others in Kajiado, Kisumu, Embu, and Narok Counties, relief came in the form of the Universal Child Benefit (UCB) program, implemented by Save the Children. Coming on the tail end of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown that had also interfered with many families’ livelihoods, the program provided families with a monthly stipend of Ksh800, offering a vital lifeline during difficult times.

Beyond the financial assistance, the UCB program has been instrumental in empowering parents with knowledge and skills to nurture their children’s growth and well-being. “We were taught about positive parenting and how our wives could properly breastfeed the babies,” explains Moses Partoti. This shift in thinking has led to a significant reduction in malnutrition cases within his community.

Achieng, a mother of four from Kisumu, is another beneficiary of the program. “My child used to fall sick frequently,” she recalls. “The UCB helped me buy nutritious foods like omena, ugali, and porridge. He is now much healthier and growing up into a normal, active, and happy boy.”

Mukami, a mother of a child with a disability, is also grateful for the UCB program. “He now enjoys meals of rice, beans, milk, and other foods that he can easily chew and digest,” she says.

The UCB program extends beyond nutrition, encompassing a holistic approach to child care. It encourages families to diversify their diets by growing fruits and vegetables in kitchen gardens, further improving nutrition and reducing cases of malnutrition, diarrhea, stunting, and pneumonia.

The program’s impact goes beyond individual families. Mothers have been organized into Mother-to-Mother Support Groups, where they pool their savings and support each other. “We started a merry-go-round with a contribution requirement of Kes200 for each member,” explains Moses. “This financial empowerment has enabled women to purchase essential household items and food.”

Beatrice Otieno, Program Development, Quality and Impact Director at Save the Children, emphasizes the program’s focus on promoting positive childcare practices. ”

UCB addresses issues such as neglect and aims to assist families during critical developmental stages,” she says.
Positive parenting was also a key component of the program. Alice, an Early Childhood Development (ECD) teacher in Kajiado, recalls how she helped a student who was withdrawn and distracted due to parental conflict. By intervening and supporting the family, Alice ensured the child returned to a stable environment.

Recognizing the program’s success, Save the Children is advocating for its expansion across Kenya. “We hope to engage the counties through the Council of Governors to make the UCB program universal and sustainable,” says counseling psychologist Viellinah Gitau.

The government is also taking steps to strengthen social protection programs. Richard Obiga, Senior Program Officer at the National Social Protection Secretariat of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Kenya, says the government has been running similar programs including the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), Hunger Safety Net Program (HSNP), the Universal Child Benefit (UCB), and the Older Persons’ Cash Transfer (OPCT). He confirms that the UCB program results have been factored into proposals contained in the Social Protection Bill that is soon set to be presented in Parliament.

“We are in the final stages of refining the Bill including making the necessary corrections that were made when we took it to the Attorney General’s office. We hope that the Bill will become law so that we can aggressively source for both government and partner funding to further protect vulnerable sections of the population,” says the program officer.

While Kenya has made significant strides in reducing child mortality, with the under-five mortality rate decreasing from 96 per 1,000 live births in 1993 to 41 in 2022, the rates remain higher than the global average of 18 per 1,000 live births. This underscores the continued need for programs like the UCB to empower communities and ensure that children not only survive but thrive, laying the foundation for a safer, healthier future.