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State gives Sh1bn in April stipends to over 323,000 vulnerable families

Vulnerable members of the public receive their April stipends from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) on May 28, 2024. (Photo: X/NDMA)

By Lucy Mumbi | Tuesday, May 28, 2024

The funds, part of the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP), support both regular and scale-up beneficiaries from eight counties: Turkana, Samburu, Marsabit, Isiolo, Wajir, Mandera, Tana River, and Garissa.

A total of 323,673 vulnerable families in arid counties have received Sh1.06 billion in stipends for April from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA).

The funds, part of the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP), support both regular and scale-up beneficiaries from eight counties: Turkana, Samburu, Marsabit, Isiolo, Wajir, Mandera, Tana River, and Garissa.

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According to the authority, the disbursement will enhance the resilience of the communities against economic and climatic shocks.

The HSNP beneficiaries in Isiolo and Samburu receive their ATM cards from Kenya Commercial Bank, which is the programme service provider in the two counties, it said.

“The cards offer the beneficiaries flexibility of choice and dignity in accessing their cash stipends," the NDMA said via social media platform X on Tuesday.

Hunger Safety Net Programme cash transfer beneficiaries in Isiolo & Samburu receive their ATM cards from Kenya Commercial Bank, the programme service provider in the two counties. The cards offer the beneficiaries flexibility of choice & dignity in accessing their cash stipends. pic.twitter.com/OaLJ4YM2Fg
— NDMA Kenya (@NDMA_Kenya) May 26, 2024

The HSNP implements a scaled-up, integrated, effective, government-led, and financed safety net programme to support some of the most vulnerable and poor households in Northern Kenya.

It is one of four cash transfer programmes under the National Safety Net Programme (NSNP), popularly referred to as Inua Jamii.

The other three programmes are the Older Persons Cash Transfer, Cash Transfers for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, and the Persons with Severe Disability Cash Transfer.

The NDMA is responsible for implementing the HSNP, while the Social Assistance Unit under the State Department of Social Protection in the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection manages the other three programmes.

Vulnerable members of the public receive their April stipends from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) on May 28, 2024. (Photo: X/NDMA)

The government plans to allocate Sh76.9 billion to social safety net programmes by the end of the 2023–24 financial year, a 16 per cent increase from the Sh65.4 billion spent the previous year.

The number of families receiving assistance is also expected to rise by over 600, reaching 124,600 this year.

According to the 2024 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), government grants to affirmative action funds will see a significant rise of 38.7 per cent, from Sh3.1 billion in 2022–23 to Sh4.3 billion in 2023–24.

The total disbursements to beneficiaries through these funds are projected to grow by 73.3 per cent, from Sh3 billion to Sh5.2 billion.

“This is expected to enrol 740,000 additional women and 47,000 additional men in 2023–24,” KNBS Director General Macdonald Obudho said.

The survey also noted a substantial increase in allocations to social protection programmes, from Sh2.5 billion to Sh33.5 billion this financial year.