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National Safety Net Program-for-Results in Kenya

National Safety Net Program-for-Results in Kenya. Mary Amuyunzu-Nyamongo, PhD. May 14, 2014. Outline. Background to social protection policy and programming in Kenya Introduction to the NSNP for results Some achievements Key challenges Opportunities for the NSNP in Kenya.

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National Safety Net Program-for-Results in Kenya

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  1. National Safety Net Program-for-Results in Kenya Mary Amuyunzu-Nyamongo, PhD May 14, 2014

  2. Outline Background to social protection policy and programming in Kenya Introduction to the NSNP for results Some achievements Key challenges Opportunities for the NSNP in Kenya

  3. Poverty distribution in Kenya • Poverty is higher in the north eastern parts of the country • High levels of poverty in poor urban areas (this is increasingly being acknowledged)

  4. Selected determinants of risk and vulnerability in Kenya Geography: households in adverse agro-climatic conditions & limited natural resources Household characteristics: size; composition; education level & occupation of the household head Access to services: vast differences exist in terms of access to basic services & associated wellbeing Poor road infrastructure: increases vulnerability to poverty for remote populations

  5. Poverty status among selected groups in Kenya

  6. The basis for SP policy and programming in Kenya • The Constitution of Kenya 2010 commits to: the right “of every person… to social security” and binds the State to “provide appropriate social security to persons who are unable to support themselves and their dependants” - Article 43(3) • The Social Pillar of Vision 2030 seeks to “build a just and cohesive society with social equity in a clean and secure environment” • The National Social Protection Policy’s (2012) goal is “to ensure that all Kenyans live in dignity and exploit their human capabilities for their own social and economic development”

  7. SP Policy for Kenya: Recognition of synergies between 3 components • NSNP is more advanced in terms of consolidation of the pilot programs • Reforms required in the social security and health insurance sub-sectors

  8. Safety Net Programs in Kenya • Five main cash transfer programs: • Cash Transfer for Orphans and vulnerable children – 235,000 • Older People’s Cash Transfer – 95,000 • Hunger Safety Net – 100,000 • Cash Transfer for Persons with Severe Disability – 28,000 • Urban Food Subsidy Cash Transfer – 10,200

  9. Financing of safety nets • Safety net funding accounted for 0.8% of the GDP • The government doubled its funding for the five programs in 2013/14 • Two questions: • Why? • For how long?

  10. Example of impacts from selected social transfers in Kenya

  11. Evidence from Kenya: CT-OVC • An examination of the impact of the Kenya CT-OVC on the transition to adulthood, 4 years after the initiation of the program revealed that: • Those in the program were 7.8 percentage points less likely to have had sex (i.e. to postpone their sexual debut) • Beneficiaries were less likely to engage in 3+ unprotected sex acts in the last 3 months. For women, the program appears to reduce the probability of having 2+ partners in the last 12 months • Females in the treatment group were less likely to be pregnant. The effect worked through 3 channels: 1) delayed marriage; 2) prolonged enrollment in school; 3) keeping young women from moving out of the household Handa et al. (2012)

  12. Key Challenges in the Social Proection Sector in Kenya • Legal frameworks • Lack of the relevant frameworks (policy has not been translated to a legal instrument) • Need for reforms • Standards • Lack of standards • Lack of knowledge/awareness of existing standards • Non-adherence

  13. Challenges… • Resources • Cost of implementation (e.g. admin costs of over 50%) • International and external shocks (national and global impacts on the programs) • Coordination • Limited interaction between implementers • Fragmentation within and across programs • Ownership of interventions/silo management • M&E/MIS • Poor or none implementation of M&E/MIS • Inaccessible data (stored in paper form) • Unwillingness to share information

  14. The National Safety Net Program • The main aim is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of safety net support to poor and vulnerable populations in Kenya. The specific objectives are to: • Create more robust systems for targeting, beneficiary registration, payments and monitoring, among others, to strengthen the overall governance of these programs • Increasingly harmonize the five cash transfer programs to improve the coherence of the sub-sector • Expand the coverage of the five programs in a coordinated manner and progressively realize the right to safety net support

  15. The NSNP Program for Results • The World Bank approved the funding for the NSNP at USD 250 Million in 2013 (to run from 2013/14 to 2016/17) • The development of the Program was informed by three assessments: 1)Technical; 2) Fiduciary; and 3) Environmental and Social Systems Assessment (ESSA) • The disbursement of funds is based on the achievement of specific deliverables

  16. Some of the Deliverable Linked Indicators I. Expanding cash transfers to promote more comprehensive and equitable coverage • Expansion Plan for the NSNP, informed by vulnerability and poverty criteria, adopted • Number of additional households enrolled in the NSNP according to agreed Expansion Plan and paid for by GOK in comparison with July 2013 baseline • The percent of program beneficiaries who conform to the targeting criteria for the program in which they are enrolled increased by 15 percentage points II. Strengthening program systems to ensure good governance

  17. Achievements • A joint targeting group was formed in 2013 to oversee the development of the expansion plan • A multi-year expansion plan is currently in draft form awaiting discussion by the Government and the World Bank • Programs are currently strengthening/developing their MIS systems with a view to linking them to the Single Registry

  18. Key challenges • Lack of coordinated efforts – programs are still operating in silos • Delays in program implementation (including targeting in 2013) that affected the achievement of the milestones • Limited human capacity - a functional review is currently on-going which will inform the capacity needs • Political interests: how many people are on the programs from my County, Constituency, location?

  19. Challenges…. • Capacity to scale-up: both human resources and infrastructural capacities are weak • Lack of complementary programs to safeguard the cash transfers: erosion of the transfers in accessing health and education • Skepticism among policy makers and community members regarding the utility of the initiative • Planning beyond the immediate to long-term: it is not clear how much the government will support and grow the safety net program in the country

  20. Opportunities for scale-up • Increased government funding for social protection • Devolution of governance structures including policy implementation • The presence of a Social Protection Secretariat – although there is a need to legitimize this structure • Increased capacity for implementation through training and on-the-job training (as part of development support) • The involvement of civil society and private sector in the advocacy and implementation of the cash transfers

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