A Half a Billion Shilling Project to Enhance Women’s Resilience in Refugee camps and Host Communities

By Stanley Nyale                                                                                                                                                              10 February 2021

Refugee and host community women in Kenya will benefit  from a half a billion shillings donated by the Japanese government. H.E. Mr. HORIE Ryoichi, Ambassador of Japan to Kenya and Ms. Anna Mutavati, Kenya Country Director for UN Women signed Kshs. 503,429,246.95 (USD 4,595,429) project aimed at enhancing women’s resilience in refugee camps” on 10th February 2021.

Professor Coletta Suda, the Permanent Secretary for Youth and Gender and the acting commissioner for refugee affairs Mr. Kodeck Makori were present during the signing. Women and girls are the most affected due to their assigned roles in society. “This project is meant to offer support to the women and girls living in refugee camps as well as women from the host communities. It will forestall the unique and specific challenges women face in those areas” said the ambassador.

“Women  play an integral role in conflict prevention, peace building at community level and national level. However, to achieve this goal, humanitarian actors  need to we need to leave no one behind. The government is committed to put women and girls at the heart of  conflict prevention, peace building recovery efforts” said Professor Suda.

PS for Gender Prof. Coletta Suda (Second right) and Commissioner Kodeck Makori of Refugee Affairs Secretariat, witness the official signing of the “Project for Enhancing Women’s Resilience in Refugee and Host Communities between the Government of Japan” and UN WOMEN Kenya. The signatories were H.E. Mr. Horie Ryoichi (Right), Ambassador of Japan to Kenya and Ms. Anna Mutavati (Left), Country Director for UN Women Kenya.

Additionally, the project is hoped to raise awareness on women and girls through advocacy campaigns with groups including men and community leaders. The new project personifies the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS), which reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction. The Government of Kenya has prioritized advancing the WPS agenda via the Kenya National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (KNAP II) considering her seat on the UN Security Council. This includes efforts to localize the agenda at the community level.

Implementation of the project will be in partnership of the national government, County Governments of Turkana and Garissa, UN sister agencies, NGOs and private companies. Some of the areas set to benefit from the USD 4,595,429 are; the Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, and host communities in both Turkana and Garissa Counties.

“We welcome all the support from the government of Japan, this will go a long way in supporting the implementation of the Kenyan Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF)”. Said  Mr. Makori the Commissioner for Refugee Affairs.