Kenya’s maternal mortality rate is 362 deaths per 100,000 live births according to the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Article 43(1)(a) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 states that: Every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive health care.
Kenya adopted the Millennium Development Goals, which had set a target of reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to 147 per 100,000 by 2015. We have also adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, whose target is to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births between 2016 and 2030.
Today, we're joined by Caroline Wainaina, a research officer working on maternal and child well-being at APHRC, to discuss maternal healthcare in Kenya.
Resources
2014 Kenya Demographic And Health Survey
Women and Men in Kenya Facts and Figures 2017
Reducing Maternal Deaths in Kenya
Tackling High Maternal Deaths in Kenya
Ministry of Health implements free maternity services nationwide
Are There Really 1.2 Million Mothers on the Free Maternity Programme?
Which way for mothers after five years of free maternal care
Has Access To Free Maternity Care In Kenya Doubled Since 2013?
Implementing Free Maternal Health Care in Kenya: Challenges, Strategies, and Recommendations
Reproductive Health and Family Planning Financing in Kenya: A mapping of the resource flows
Maternal Education and Immunization Status Among Children in Kenya
From Paper to Practice: Sexuality Education Policies and Their Implementation in Kenya
Reality check: Why it’s time to introduce sex education in schools
UNFPA Kenya Annual Report 2017
We celebrate Labour Day/International Worker’s Day each year on the 1st of May. Celebrations are organized by trade unions and their members, and they take time to highlight the labour environment in the country, and how it can be improved. Trade unions in Kenya are inextricably linked with our struggle for independence.
Makhan Singh is considered the father of the labour movement, having formed the Labour Trade Union of Kenya in 1935, and the East African Trade Union Congress in 1949. To mark this year's occasion belatedly, we’re joined by Dr. Emily Odhong, a lecturer at Kiriri Women's University of Science and Technology, and a labour relations consultant, to discuss the importance of the labour movement in Kenya. Press play!
Resources
The Labour Relations Act (2007)
Industrial Relations Charter (1984)
Assessment Of The State Of Trade Unions in Kenya
Re-thinking Industrial Relations for Enhanced Organizational Performance in Kenya
Trade union movement leads the way in Kenya
The Constitution of Kenya (2010) was promulgated almost nine years ago, on 27th August 2010. This was after it was presented to the Attorney General on 7th April 2010, officially published on 6th May 2010, subjected to a referendum on 4th August 2010, and approved by 68.55% of the people who participated in the referendum.
We’re joined by Atsango Chesoni, former Deputy Chairperson of the Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review, to discuss how this constitution has changed Kenya almost nine years later.
Resources
The Constitution of Kenya (2010) [Web Version]
The Constitution of Kenya (2010) [PDF Version]
The Repealed Constitution [first passed in 1969]
1962 Lancaster House Conference
About the Committee of Experts Process
Constitutional Transitions and Territorial Cleavages: The Kenyan Case
Kenya: 36 reasons why we needed a new constitution
All you need to know about independent commissions, offices
The Rationale for the Existence of Independent Constitutional Commissions
It is the politics, stupid: (Not) Kenya Style
Prof. Yash Pal Ghai’s Submission to the Building Bridges Initiative Task Force Committee
Ethnicity and the Kenyan System of Governance
Why we cannot change the Constitution without violating it
Episode 80: The Two-Thirds Gender Principle
Episode 70: Financing the Kenyan Government
The Big 4 Agenda, unveiled on 12th December 2017, has identified manufacturing as one of its pillars (alongside universal healthcare, food security and affordable housing), with the goal of increasing its contribution to Kenya’s economy to 15% by 2022. The agenda has identified 8 priority sectors under its manufacturing pillar: agro-processing, textile, leather, construction, materials, oil and mining, iron and steel, and ICT.
In recent years, according to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Kenya has experienced deindustrialization as evidenced by the reduction in manufacturing’s contribution to our GDP. We are joined by Navalayo Osembo, CEO and co-founder of Enda Sportswear, to discuss this pillar further.
Resources
KAM - Manufacturing in Kenya Under the ‘Big 4 Agenda’ A Sector Deep-dive Report
KAM - Manufacturing Priority Agenda 2019
Manufacturing in Kenya: Features, Challenges and Opportunities
Special Economic Zones Act (2015)
Export Processing Zones Act (1990)
Export Processing Zones Act - Subsidiary Legislation
Want Big Four to work? Bring down cost of doing business
Manufacturing can be the engine for Uhuru’s Big Four pillars need
What manufacturers need to drive Kenya’s Big Four growth agenda
At the Paris Peace Forum in November 2018, Uhuru Kenyatta committed to Kenya’s transition to 100% green energy by 2020, noting that green energy made up 70% of Kenya’s installed electric capacity at the time. According to the Ministry of Energy, as at December 2018, Kenya had achieved 75% household access to electricity, through both on-grid and off-grid solutions, and we plan to achieve universal access to electricity by 2022.
We’re joined by Anne Wambugu, an electrical engineer working in the renewable energy sector, to discuss Kenya's current state electricity-wise, what it means for Kenya to go green, and the possibilities that lie ahead. Press play!
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Resources
[Updated] Least Cost Power Development Plan
Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project [All Downloads]
Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project: Vulnerable & Marginalized Groups Framework
Kenya Electricity System Improvement Project: Environmental & Social Management Framework
Kenya Electricity Modernization Project
Global Off-Grid Solar Market Report: Semi-Annual Sales and Impact Data
Renewables 2018: Global Status Report
Development of Kenya’s power sector: 2015-2020
Kenya Power Sh4.8bn diesel order signals long wait for cheap electricity
Eyes on ERC as wind surpasses diesel electricity
Ending 3 thermal power plants to cost Sh 9 billion
Kenya Launches Ambitious Plan to Provide Electricity to All Citizens by 2022
Off-grid solar power comes of age in Kenya
Market for the integration of smaller wind turbines in minigrids in Kenya
Off-grid solutions cure for power deficit in Kenya
Kenya is aiming to be powered entirely by green energy by 2020