Organised by Kenya’s Nongovernmental Organisation (NGO) Coordination Board, the NGO Week 2020 was held from 27th to 31st January 2020 at the KICC, Nairobi. The event was characterised by the launch of the Annual NGOs Sector Second Report, round table discussions on NGO financing and the ‘Big 4’ Agenda.
Hundreds of officials from various NGOs participated in the three-day event including Amref Health Africa in Kenya. The ceremony was graced by the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Dr Fred Matiang’i. He thanked all non-state actors for supporting government development efforts especially the ‘Big 4’ Agenda and promised to gazette the commencement of the PBO Act, 2013, which will create a more enabling environment for non-state actors to operate with the expectation of them honouring all their obligations.
“The role of NGOs in promoting social, economic and political change cannot be gainsaid. We will continue strengthening our relationship with the charitable sector to optimise its impact in our country,” remarked Dr Fred Matiang’i.
Popularly known as the ‘Big 4’ Agenda, the Government identified four development priorities: food and nutrition security, Universal Health Coverage, affordable housing and manufacturing.
At the end of the year under review, a total of 1,026 NGOs reported spending Kshs 34, 970,418,340.96 to implement projects connected to the ‘Big 4’ Agenda. Kshs 30,780,303,737 was reported as spent in implementing various health-related projects, that include health education, training community health workers, addressing HIV/AIDS, mobilising communities to register for health coverage, equipping health facilities, providing pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical resources, and responding to health emergencies.
The Annual NGO sector report 2018/19 details information on the NGO sector, including growth in funding, expenditure and sustainability of the sector in the year under review. The report showed that Amref Health Africa in Kenya is among the top five leading NGOs in the utilisation of funds on projects, with Kshs 2,651,726,999.91 (US4 26, 380,568.17) spent. An analysis under review and specifically focusing on organisations that filed their reports showed that Amref Health Africa is among the top two sector players in the fight against HIV.
Besides the launch of the report, the forum presented an opportunity for Amref Health Africa represented by Dr Elizabeth Wala to engage in conversations that shed light on the organisation’s focus and strategy in contributing to and piloting of the ‘Big 4’ Agenda.
For more information on the Annual NGO sector report 2018/19: https://ngobureau.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ANNUAL-NGO-SECTOR-REPORT-2018-2019.pdf