1.
The
African Report
on Child Wellbeing
2011
Budgeting for children
Country Brief
KENYA
November, 2010
The African Child Policy Forum
P. O. Box 1179, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Telephone: +251 116 62 81 92/96
E-mail: info@africanchildforum.org
Website: www.africanchildforum.org

2. The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) is a leading, independent, not-for-profit, pan-African centre of
policy research and dialogue on the African child.
ACPF was established with the conviction that putting children first on the public agenda is fundamental for
the realisation of their rights and wellbeing and for bringing about lasting social and economic progress in
Africa.
ACPF’s work is rights based, inspired by universal values and informed by global experiences and
knowledge and is committed to internationalism. Its work is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and other relevant international
human rights instruments. ACPF aims to specifically contribute to improved knowledge on children in
Africa; monitor and report progress; identify policy options; provide a platform for dialogue; collaborate with
governments, inter-governmental organisations and civil society in the development and implementation of
effective pro-child policies and programmes and also promote a common voice for children in the
developing world.
P. O. Box 1179, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Telephone: + 251 116 62 81 92/96
Fax: +251 116 62 82 00
E-mail: info@africanchildforum.org
Website: www.africanchildforum.org
www.africanchild.info
© 2010 The African Child Policy Forum
ii

3. Content
Page
Preface...........................................................................................................................................................iv
Budgeting for Children ...................................................................................................................................1
How is Kenya performing in investing in children’s health?........................................................................1
How is Kenya performing in investing in children’s education? .................................................................2
How is Kenya performing in investing in social protection?........................................................................2
Overall performance of Kenya in budgeting for children.............................................................................2
iii

4. Preface
As part of its effort to carry out informed advocacy on the rights and wellbeing of children in Africa,
The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) decided to produce a report on a specific theme every other
year. The first of these reports was the 2008 African Report on Child Wellbeing that mainly focused on
measuring child-friendliness of African governments. The report was a major contribution in promoting
good governance and child wellbeing, as well as an important source of information on children in
Africa. It has also informed programmatic development of a number of organisations in Africa and
elsewhere.
The second report in the series, The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2011 is on the theme
‘budgeting for children’. This theme was chosen, inter alia, in appreciation of the fact that childhood –
being a stage of vulnerability – always carries with it a sense of urgency which demands immediate
and concrete action on the wellbeing and rights fronts, wherein the budget is the linchpin.
This country brief presents a concise summary of key findings from the African Report on Child
Wellbeing 2011 for Kenya and is aimed at serving as a quick reference for researchers, policy
makers, the media and other interested users. It highlights the performance of Kenya in investing in
sectors that benefit children such as health, education, and social protection. It also presents some
important indicators on the state of children’s wellbeing.
We hope that readers will find this document useful and informative.
David Mugawe
Executive Director
The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF)
iv

5. Country Brief
KENYA
Budgeting for Children
Budget is a crucial instrument for advancing the survival, protection and development of children. This
is particularly the case in Africa where the capacity of most families to finance and provide for their
children is very limited and where there are huge unmet needs for access to basic services.
The budget analysis framework developed by The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) is anchored to the
principles enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on
the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) and assesses the extent to which African governments
are committed to utilise the maximum of their available resources to realise the rights and wellbeing
of children. The framework identifies four operational categories of budgets for children that are
consistent with the pillar principles of the UNCRC and ACRWC: budget for the health of children,
budget for the education of children, budget for social protection, and budget for child development.
Analysis on budgets for children was therefore made using these four budget categories.
This country brief highlights the key findings on budgets and child wellbeing from “The African Report
on Child Wellbeing-2011: Budgeting for Children”1 that relate to Kenya.
Few facts about Kenya
Total pupation in 2008 38 million
Child (<18) population in 2008 19.2 million
Population annual growth rate 2.6 %
GDP per capita in 2008 838 USD (current prices)
Total revenues in 2008 6.42 billion USD
How is Kenya performing in investing in children’s health?
Investment in children’s health is a potentially powerful mechanism of building human capital,
generating sustainable growth. According to available data, Kenya spent only 7.1 per cent of its total
expenditure on health, which is lower than the African median value – 9.1 per cent.
Figure 1: Trends in health expenditure in Kenya
(as per cent of total government expenditure)
16
14
Abuja commitment -15%
• Health expenditure as per cent of total
government spending in Kenya has been
12
fluctuating between 2004 and 2008. The
10
country spent 7.1 in 2008, which is still far
P er c en t
9. 7
8 below the Abuja commitment of 15 per cent.
8. 2 7. 8
6 7. 1
6. 1
4 • The Government of Kenya fully financed the
2 national EPI vaccine programme in 2008,
0 which is an indication of its commitment to the
health of children.
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
1 African Child Policy Forum (2010). The African Report on Child Wellbeing: Budgeting for Children. Addis Ababa,
The African Child Policy Forum.
1

6. The state of children’s health was assessed by looking at the immunisation coverage, nutrition status,
infant and child mortality rates as well as through levels of access to clean water and improved
sanitation facilities and these basic indicators are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Indicators on children’s state of health and access to health
services in Kenya (most recent year between 2000 & 2009)
Indicator Percentage
Deliveries attended by skilled health workers 42
One-year old infants immunised against measles 90
• Under five mortality rate in Kenya
lowered to 100 deaths per 1,000
Children under-weight for age 16.5
live births in 2009 from 114 in
Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 62
2000. This trend indicates that
Under 5 mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 100 there is still much work to be done
Percentage of children with pneumonia taken to health to achieve the 2015 MDG target,
provider 49
36.3 per 1,000 live births.
Per cent of population with access to safe drinking water 59
Per cent of population with adequate sanitation facilities 31
How is Kenya performing in investing in children’s education?
7.1% of GD P goes t o edu c at i on i n
K en ya Investment in education is critical in many respects, both
7.1% for individuals and the society at large. For instance,
education plays a central role in enabling children to
develop to their full potential as well as equips them with
the skills necessary to lead a healthy and productive life.
Kenya spent 7.1 per cent of its GDP for education in 2007,
which is a little more than the Dakar commitment of 7 per
Education expenditure as % of GDP cent.
Total GDP
Kenya has shown progress in net enrolment ratio both for
boys and girls in 2007 as compared with the year 1999/2000. No distinct disparity was observed
between enrolment ratio of boys and girls in 2007(Figure 2).
Figure 2. Net Enrolment ratio in primary
education by gender
• A recent data shows that completion rate at 100
primary level in Kenya was about 93 per cent of
the relevant age group. 75 86 86
Enrollment ratio
68 69
• The completion rates for boys and girls were 50
about 94 and 92 per cent of the relevant age
group, respectively 25
0
• The pupil-teacher ratio in primary education in 1999/2000 2007
Kenya stood at 40 in 2006/2007. Boys
Girls
How is Kenya performing in investing in social protection?
Social protection programmes supplement and augment the efficiency of investments in other sectors
such as health and education. Investment in social protection also supports progress in MDGs and
contributes to reducing children’s vulnerability to economic
• Kenya spent only 0.02 per cent
shocks and price surge in food items.
of its GDP for social protection.
Though insignificant, Kenya is among the countries in Africa
that allocated some of the available resources to social protection.
Overall performance of Kenya in budgeting for children
Budgetary performance was measured using a Composite Performance Index developed on the basis
of the indicators:
2

7. - Expenditure on health as a percentage of total government expenditure,
- Percentage of budget for routine EPI vaccines financed by governments,
- Total public expenditure on education as per cent of DGP, and
- Military expenditure as percent of GDP.
Accordingly, Kenya was one of the countries that allocated a fair amount of resources for children in
Africa during the period 2006-2008 (see table 2).
Table 2: Categorisation of countries by level of performance in budgeting for
children, 2006-2008
Country Performance Category
Algeria
Gabon
resources for
Allocated the
of available
Mozambique
maximum
children
Niger
Senegal
Seychelles
Tanzania Kenya was one of the countries that
Tunisia performed fairly in allocating resources in
Benin sectors that benefit children. The main
Botswana reasons for this are:
Burkina Faso • The country spent higher proportion
Cameroon of its available resources on
Cape Verde
education as compared to most
Central African Republic
Chad
African countries
Congo (Brazzaville) • It fully financed the national
Côte d'Ivoire immunisation programme,
Allocated a fair amount of resources for children
Djibouti indicating its commitment to the
Egypt health of children.
Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali Three priority areas for action
Mauritania
Mauritius • Ensuring priority is given, in
Morocco
Namibia
budgetary allocation and
Nigeria implementation, to the realisation of
Rwanda children’s rights and wellbeing
São Tomé and Principe
South Africa • Ensuring efficient use of resources
Swaziland through transparent budgetary
Togo frameworks and processes
Uganda
Zambia • Ensuring adequate support for, and
Zimbabwe investment in, early childhood
Angola development.
Burundi
resources for
Allocated the
of available
Comoros
minimum
children
Demo. Rep. Congo
Eritrea
Guinea-Bissau
Sierra Leone
Sudan
For full information see the main report: The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2011: Budgeting for Children, Addis Ababa,
The African child Policy Forum.
The African Child Policy Forum
P. O. Box 1179, Addis Ababa, Kenya
Telephone: +251 116 62 81 92/96
E-mail: info@africanchildforum.org
Website: www.africanchildforum.org 3