Influencing Policies & Programmes In Vision 2030 & Documenting Women’s Experiences (ausaid Phase Ii)

Abstract

The Kenya Vision 2030 is the long-term development blueprint for the country that is motivated by a collective aspiration for a better society. It aims to create a globally competitive and prosperous country with a high quality of life by 2030, transform Kenya into a newly-industrialized, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to its citizens in a clean and secure environment and aspire to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for Kenya. The Government of Kenya (GOK) aims to achieve the goals and objectives of Vision 2030 by implementing Medium Term Plans. The vision is founded on three key pillars, namely Economic, Social and Political. The vision has identified key flagship projects in each sector. Gender is one of the most persistent axes of inequality of distribution of resources and a key factor in the feminization of poverty. The government has recognized the importance of gender mainstreaming in policy and programming as a means of achieving sustainable development goals. A gender analysis of the Vision 2030 recognizes that women, poor men and other disadvantaged groups are the victims of social structures that impact on them negatively and therefore, any policy and programming that fails to capture and utilize their experiences increases inequality. Influencing policy and programs by addressing women’s perspectives, experiences and knowledge has been hampered by lack of analysis skills from the policy makers and assumptions that gender issues are simple. The overall objective of the project was therefore to influence policies and programmes in Vision 2030 and document women’s experiences in select flagship projects in 4 key sectors that impact women’s lives closely namely: Agriculture, Water, Environment and Health. The flagship projects were: a) Fertilizer cost-reduction investment programme - Tala NCPB in Agriculture; b) Irrigation and Drainage flagship project - Mwea Rice Irrigation Scheme in Water; c) Development of Waster management system - Dandora Dumpsite in Environment; and d) Rehabilitation of the Health Infrastructure - Mbagathi Hospital. Key policies in the four mentioned sectors were identified and subjected to a gender analysis together with the flagship projects. The audit highlighted gaps in the gender dimensions and a lack of clear targeting of women. The analysis brought out clearly the limited gender focus in the entire policy pronouncement and program cycle. The sharing of the tools has resulted in appreciation for the gap analysis and value addition to possible policy review and programming. Interestingly, we have been able to consolidate partnerships which have moved on to design and implementation of some projects that would benefit women, men and policy makers/implementers. The AWSC’s experience of documenting women’s views, perspectives and knowledge was fruitful and key information was gathered and recorded. It was clear from the documentation that women were active participants in most of the projects albeit without much knowledge of the history and the management of the same. In summary, the project has met its objectives and the data and materials accumulated and shared will go a long way in influencing the gender environment in the legal and policy framework in Kenya as well as design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of programmes.