Financing Social Sectors For Equity And Development Side Event

The Economic Planning Principal Secretary,
Dr Bonface Makokha, earlier today, Friday 15th August, 2025 attended a side event during the sidelines of the 9th Devolution Conference in Homabay National School, Homabay County.

The session was organized by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA),
and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

The side event themed: “Financing Social Sectors for Equity and Inclusion at Devolved Level” and co-hosted by the United Nations Women (UN) and World Bank (WB) saw the launching of the Brighter Futures: Breaking Cycles of Poverty for Children in Kenya and the Women’s Empowerment in Kenya: Developing a Measure reports consecutively.

The purpose of the Brighter Futures: Breaking Cycles of Poverty for Children in Kenya report is to among others; evaluate the vulnerability of the Kenyan child and determine the link between child vulnerability and women’s empowerment.

On the other hand, the Women’s Empowerment in Kenya: Developing a Measure report aims to develop a metric for measuring women’s empowerment across Kenya.This will enable the monitoring of progress and identify areas of improvement.

The two reports concentrate on vulnerable groups, with the Brighter Futures report highlighting child poverty and the Women’s Empowerment Index focusing on women’s empowerment which indirectly affects child well-being.

Speaking during the launch, PS Makokha acknowledged that children are the heartbeat of our Nation’s future.Therefore their needs take centre stage.They include: health and nutrition, education and others.

PS Makokha also noted that empowering women is not just a matter of fairness; it is a key strategy for social transformation. He added that by promoting gender equality we unlock investments that benefit the Country.

In attendance were: the Kisumu County Governor, H.E Peter Anyang Nyong’o, the KIPPRA Board Chairperson, Prof.Paul Wachana, KIPPRA Executive Director, Dr Eldah Onsomu, KNBS Director General, Dr Macdonald Obudho and UNICEF Chief of Social Policy, Dr Gabby Guerrero among others.