Read our 2019 annual report
Why are we in Kenya? The latest poverty data from The World Bank indicates that 36% of people in Kenya are still living below the poverty line, while youth unemployment stands at 39%. Concern’s work is concentrated where most of Kenya’s poor live: in rural, arid and semi-arid lands in the north, as well as in the informal settlements of Nairobi.
*We are currently responding to the threat of COVID-19 in Kenya. Find out more about our response here.
Climate change continues to seriously impact the poor in rural areas, with Kenya regularly experiencing devastating droughts. The 2019 drought came less than 18 months from the previous one and was followed by heavy flooding. People living in affected areas have no time to recover from one emergency to the next. One outcome of this is increased migration towards urban centres. 2019 census data indicates that 60% of Nairobi's 4.3 million people live in slums. The provision of basic services such as health, education and sanitation is failing. Politically, devolution of power has been extended to county level, however implementation still faces key challenges. We are committed to addressing the root causes of poverty in urban and rural programme areas by strengthening the capacity of public service providers to meet basic needs and by enhancing the income and well-being of the extremely poor.
Milan Pact Award
Our system strengthening work is enabling health services in Nairobi to better predict and respond to emergencies. It has contributed to the local government's 'Urban Early Warning Early Action' initiative which received a Milan Pact Award in 2019.
Health and nutrition
Emergency detection
We are working hard to combat suffering and build resilience in Kenya. We are doing this by implementing programmes which will strengthen resilience, respond to emergencies and provide access to quality education.
To announce Dublin inter-county footballer Michael Darragh Macauley becoming a Concern ambassador, the five-time All-Ireland winning star visited our education programmes in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.
Concern Kenya: Michael Darragh MacAuley
Royal wedding photographer and Concern ambassador Alexi Lubomirski visited our education and nutrition programmes in Kenya. This video shows the inspiring people he met in Nairobi.
Fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski visits Concern Kenya
