UN Women analysis of Kenya’s COVID-19 fiscal stimulus packages released
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UN Women Kenya and the Government of Kenya, through the State Department for Gender, have published a study of the country’s fiscal stimulus packages and policy interventions that were implemented during the initial waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Engendering Fiscal Stimulus Packages and Recovery Efforts Adopted in Response to the COVID-19 Health and Economic crises in Kenya assesses: (i) gender-responsiveness of the fiscal and economic stimulus package, and (ii) provides recommendations for making these packages more gender responsive for better economic recovery outcomes.
Speaking during the launch of the study UN Women Kenya Representative, Anna Mutavati, reiterated the importance of gender data in ensuring women and girls are not left behind in the development agenda:
“We know that gender equality and women’s empowerment are prerequisites for strong institutions, stable communities, and economies. Evidence from all around the world shows that investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, inclusive economic growth, and wealth creation.”
The study looked into a comprehensive portfolio of initiatives that included family cash transfers, youth employment programmes, subsidies to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across manufacturing, tourism and construction, as well as pivoting education towards digital learning. A series of ten recommendations have been made for each sector which call for future interventions of this kind to be informed by gender analysis and disaggregated data at their inception to better target the needs of men and women equally.
“The recommendations of the study we launched today seek to ensure the needs of women, men, girls and boys are taken into account during the implementation of economic stimulus packages and that they will promote the development and implementation of Special Programmes for Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) in the country,” said Prof. Margaret Kobia, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs & Special Programmes.
The study is anchored on UN Women's commitment to supporting Government efforts contributing to women's livelihoods and their access: to social protection, healthcare, infrastructure, food, and housing, among other sectors that Government has prioritized.