In 2016, PASGR with funding from the Department for International Development, UK (DFID) conducted a pilot study on Social Protection in 5 African countries.
The study revealed that direct cash transfers programmes are one of the most effective means of combatting and preventing poverty. Although African governments are increasingly endorsing and funding Social protection progammes, there is still lack of buy-in with regards to cash transfers and lack of exchange of best practices for social protection planning and implementation.
The Utafti Sera house on Social Protection in Kenya builds on the pilot phase of the Utafiti Sera Programme which run from 2015 – 2017. The current house reconstituted in January 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. The house is hosted by the African Platform for Social Protection (APSP) and supports government efforts in tackling poverty through social protection programmes. So far, forums have been convened around to five policy areas namely: legislation on social protection; universalism as a way of reducing targeting errors; exit/graduation mechanisms; financing mechanisms; and effective coordination of social protection.
At the request of the Ministry of Labour and Social Services, the house provides evidence on social protection best practices and a space for unassuming, non-partisan debates and policy engagement among key stakeholders on how best secure and coordinate the various social protection programmes currently being implemented in Kenya.
