Kenya
In Kenya, HI is working in refugee camps to improve access to healthcare, education and employment for people with disabilities.
Refugees in Dadaab camp, Humanity & Inclusion Kenya | © B. Blondel / HI
Actions in process
In Kenya, HI works in refugee camps to improve the living conditions of refugees, particularly the most vulnerable among them, seeking to provide them with equal and protected access to healthcare, training and employment opportunities and civic engagement. In particular, HI’s programme is running a project aimed at micro-entrepreneurs to help them develop their activities. Participants receive training in communication, management and business administration, meet financial institutions and potential partners at events organised by HI and take part in peer exchange groups.
HI also provides refugees with rehabilitation and psychosocial support services, training professionals to detect needs and providing psychological first aid. HI runs four care centres in the Dadaab refugee camp, where people with disabilities can receive mobility aids such as walking sticks, prostheses and walkers. Our teams work with partner organisations and with representatives of the communities themselves to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable populations - older people, people with disabilities, young children and women - are taken into account and that they benefit from services and protection adapted to their situation. To this end, we train our partners to adopt an inclusive approach in the implementation of all their projects.
We are also working with various actors to enable Kenyan professionals, particularly those with disabilities, to benefit from scholarships to train in partner countries.
Lastly, we support education stakeholders to enable them to cater to children with disabilities in the best possible conditions, providing training and pedagogical initiatives on inclusive education. Our teams develop and provide adapted materials and work to make classrooms more accessible for children with specific needs. They also organise good practice exchange sessions to enable education stakeholders - parents, teachers and the administration - to learn from each other. The programme covers the children’s travel costs, provides them with uniforms and raises awareness of disability issues among their families and entourage.
Areas of intervention
concretely
Situation of the country
Inequalities persist in Kenyan society and, over the last few years, successive droughts have threatened the food security of part of the population.
Kenya gained independence in 1963. In 2020, the country was ranked 143rd out of 189 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index. The increase in gender inequality has had a negative impact on development and the population's economic growth, particularly in terms of access to employment, education and appropriate healthcare. As a result, the rights of people with disabilities and vulnerable people are often neglected, contributing to increased poverty and substandard living conditions.
In 2017 and 2019, the situation in Kenya's arid regions deteriorated considerably due to long dry spells. Floods, landslides and locust invasions also had a negative impact on crop yields, household food supplies and caused a drop in household incomes. This led to an increased risk of food insecurity and a deterioration in the health and nutritional status of the Kenyan population. At the same time, the political became more unstable.
In 2021, an evaluation report highlighted worsening food insecurity, drought and a deterioration in the nutritional situation in many Kenyan counties. In September 2021, the President declared the drought a national disaster.
Number of HI staff: 62
Programme created in: 1992
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