Kenya
Newsline
Former child soldier Emmanuel Jal is now a hip hop star with a message of peace
NEW YORK, USA, 25 August 2008 – Over a decade has passed since Sudanese hip hop star Emmanuel Jal was a child soldier. He survived to tell his story and is now an acclaimed international musician with a message of peace.
UNICEF-supported outreach brings free health services to Kenyan families
NAIROBI, Kenya, 16 June 2008 – Agnes Mangolo smiled proudly as she lifted her five-month-old daughter, Elizabeth, off the scale at the clinic at Mbita Primary School in the Kinango district of Kenya’s Coast Province. The nutritionist had just confirmed that the child’s weight was within the recommended levels for her age.
Fatuma’s Digital Diary: Girls’ education in Kenya’s largest slum
KIBERA, Kenya, 4 April 2008 – Kibera is Kenya's largest slum, right in the heart of the capital city, Nairobi. The slum's million-plus inhabitants struggle with extraordinary poverty and high crime rates. As is true throughout Kenya, the vast majority of Kibera's residents are under the age of 30, and less than half of the district's youths ever begin secondary school.
Kenyan leaders sign power-sharing agreement as children hope for peace
NEW YORK, USA, 29 February 2008 – Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odiniga yesterday signed a power-sharing agreement to restore peace to a country that has been engulfed by violence since the disputed presidential elections there in December.
UNICEF tent schools provide sanctuary for Kenyan children displaced by violence
NAKURU, Kenya, 19 February 2008 – When Yvonne’s family fled the violence that ravaged their village, the eight-year-old lost her home, her precious plastic necklace, her school uniform and her classroom.
UNICEF appeals for $6.6 million to help those affected by post-election violence
NEW YORK, USA, 30 January 2008 – UNICEF has appealed for $6.6 million to protect women and children as post-election violence increases in Kenya.
Following post-election conflict, thousands of children miss the first day of school
NAIROBI, Kenya, 24 January 2008 – The violence that erupted in the aftermath of last year’s disputed presidential elections has made life chaotic for many in Kenya.
Promoting child’s health through the routine use of local health centres
NAIROBI, Kenya, 18 January 2008 – A comprehensive initiative to protect children’s health was launched recently in Kenya. ‘Malezi Bora’, which means ‘Good Nurturing’, is making health services more accessible for expectant mothers and children under five.
Providing help for families displaced by civil unrest in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, 16 January, 2008 – An estimated 250,000 Kenyans remain displaced following civil unrest that began shortly after the announcement of national election results on 27 December sparked a wave of rioting in the capital and other areas.
Violence subsides but families remain displaced in post-election Kenya
NEW YORK, USA, 11 January 2008 – The effects of post-election violence in Kenya continue to reverberate throughout the country. An estimated 250,000 people have fled their homes and are in need of food, shelter housing and essential medicines.
Waiving maternity fees improves prospects for Kenyan women and children
KWALE, Kenya, 8 January 2007 – New mother Rehema Juma sits impatiently on a small bed in the Maternity Ward at Mswambweni Hospital. Her newborn baby rests on her lap, wrapped in brightly coloured traditional ‘kikoi’ cloth. For days now, she has been waiting to go home.
One girl’s story: Fatuma, 22, reports from Kenya's post-election conflict
KIBERA, Kenya, 2 January 2008 – At least 300 people have died in the violence that erupted in the wake of last week’s disputed election in Kenya. Much of the unrest has centred around Kibera, a slum outside of Nairobi.
UNICEF Kenya brings children’s issues to election campaign platform
NAIROBI, Kenya, 17 December 2007 – Four hundred children, their teachers and UNICEF staff members brought a section of Kenya’s capital to a standstill as they marched through the streets with music and banners proclaiming their arrival.
Fatuma’s Digital Diary: Daily life for girls in the slums of Kenya
NEW YORK, USA, 24 October 2007 – Fatuma Roba, 21, lives in Kibera, a slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Deeply concerned about the rights of girls and women, she is a founding member of the Binti Pamoja group – a girls’ centre in her community.
Kenya training session is a milestone for community-based newborn care in Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya, 26 June 2007 – Twenty-year-old Evelyn Katunge doesn’t know what killed her babies. In April 2005, with the help of birth attendants in her Majengo home, a sprawling slum near downtown Nairobi, she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Her joy, however, was cruelly shattered when her first baby died within hours, soon followed by her other baby.
At regional launch of violence study, Kenyan children say ‘no’ to corporal punishment
NAIROBI, Kenya, 31 May 2007 – The UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children has been launched here by Kenyan Vice-President Moody Awori at an event attended by donors, non-governmental organization representatives and UN officials.
Kenyan and Canadian cricketers visit Boys’ Training Centre in St. Lucia
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, 16 March 2007 – Twenty-seven young boys living away from their homes and families – some abused or abandoned, others in conflict with the law – got a special treat when cricketers from the Kenyan and Canadian teams took time from their busy schedules to visit the UNICEF-supported Boys’ Training Centre in Gros Islet, St. Lucia, where the boys stay.
Sexual violence afflicts the lives of children at a school in central Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, 13 March 2007 – UNICEF’s recently appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Eastern and Southern Africa, the hip-hop star Zola, thought he had seen it all. Born as Bonginkonsi Dlamini in Zola, a crime-ridden neighbourhood in Soweto, South Africa, he grew up surrounded by hunger, poverty, violence and guns.
Kenyan schoolchildren face challenges left by recent floods
NAIROBI, Kenya, 1 February 2007 – Nixon Bwire, 13, grins as he runs towards his friends, who are throwing stones across a stream that has been running through their school ever since floods struck the area. Nixon shows his amazed friends the large fish he just caught from a nearby river.
Sex tourism in Kenya: One girl’s story
MOMBASA, Kenya, 20 December 2006 – “If my father knew that I do this, he would kill me,” says Annie (not her real name). “But he does not provide enough for me and my daughter, so I have to do this to make some extra cash.”
Report reveals Kenyan child sex industry of ‘horrific’ magnitude
NEW YORK, USA, 19 December 2006 – A report on Kenyan sex tourism has revealed that up to 30 per cent of teenagers in some Kenyan coastal areas are involved in casual sex for cash.
Floods bring havoc to Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya
DADAAB, Kenya, 4 December 2006 – It was early Saturday morning and Kusa Yunis Hassan, 23, a Somali refugee mother of two, emerged from her plastic shelter. Her son Mohammed, 3, was playing outside. There had been a deluge for the past two weeks.
Severe floods ravage eastern Africa
NEW YORK, USA, 14 November 2006 – Tens of thousands of people in eastern Africa have fled their homes, and many have died, as a result of heavy flooding in recent weeks. Somalia in particular has been severely affected, along with neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya.
Polio case in Kenya refugee camp raises fears and concerns
NEW YORK, USA, 26 October 2006 – As the escalating conflict in Somalia triggers an influx of refugees into neighbouring Kenya, a child living in a camp along the border has been diagnosed with polio. It is Kenya’s first reported case in 22 years.
‘Stop the Violence’ campaign helps Kenyan teen escape sexual abuse
NAIVASHA, Kenya, 18 October 2006 – Watching Dorcas (not her real name) play hide-and-seek with the younger children, one sees a picture of a big, happy family. However, life for the 14-year-old girl, the first-born in a family of five children, has not always been picture perfect.
‘Stop Violence’ campaign in Kenya leads to increased reporting of abuses
NAIROBI, Kenya, 16 October 2006 – Two months after the ‘Stop Violence against Children’ campaign launched in Kenya, there has been a sharp increase in the number of reported cases of violence.
One doctor makes a big impact on a hospital in rural Kenya
GARISSA, Kenya, 5 September 2006 – At Garissa Provincial Hospital in the remote North Eastern Province of Kenya, one doctor has had a big impact on local health. With help from UNICEF, Medical Superintendent Dr. Khadija Abdalla has transformed the small rural hospital into a highly efficent institution.
Education and awareness make progress against female genital cutting in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, 24 August 2006 – In the North Eastern Province of Kenya, UNICEF is helping communities abandon the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), or cutting, which is still inflicted upon the vast majority of girls in the province.
Kenya’s ‘Stop the Violence’ campaign aims to protect children at risk
NEW YORK, USA, 22 August 2006 – The ‘Stop the Violence against Children’ campaign got a further boost this past weekend in Naivasha, Kenya, during the first-ever community fair promoting the initiative.
UNICEF teams race to save children after diarrhoea outbreaks in Ethiopia and Kenya
ADALE, Ethiopia, 20 July 2006 – Abdi Kafi, 4, lies crying in his mother’s arms, weak and listless after three weeks of recurrent diarrhoea.
A ‘Wind of Hope’ for two brothers orphaned by AIDS
ISIOLO, Kenya, 27 July 2006 – Siblings Anthony and Gabriel Koikoi are the best of friends; they can't afford not to be. Since both their parents died three years ago, the two brothers are all that is left of their family.
Naomi Siombua, 15, builds confidence playing football in a Kenyan slum
NAIROBI, Kenya - Naomi Siombua, 15, grew up in the slums, often doing her homework by candlelight. Her favorite team is Chelsea and she credits football with helping her avoid the violence that has ravaged many of her friends' lives.
Tetanus jabs for 686,000 primary school children in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, 21 June 2006 – Amina Abdi, 7, a student at Ganjoni Primary School in Mombasa, Kenya, shut her eyes tightly and clenched her little fists as she received her jab.
Mothers hit hard by drought in Horn of Africa
GARISSA, Kenya, 13 June 2006 – Signs of death litter the Horn of Africa, stark reminders of a fragile landscape deprived of sufficient water for years on end.
Falling behind: In Kenya, drought threatens children’s education and dims their hopes
RIFT VALLEY PROVINCE, Kenya, 30 May 2006 – The drought crippling the Horn of Africa is particularly dangerous for children. Besides the immediate threat of malnutrition and dehydration, their future is at risk because so many boys and girls are being forced to drop out of school.
Girl’s football programme scores hit against HIV in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, 12 May 2006 – Africa’s biggest youth sports organization is taking a leading role in educating girls about HIV/AIDS. Backed by UNICEF, the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) helps them develop life skills and provides information on how to stop the disease from spreading.
Emergency measles campaign aims to immunize 5.5 million children in Kenya
GARISSA / NAIROBI, Kenya, 9 May 2006 – More than half a million vulnerable children under the age of five have been immunized against measles and polio in the first phase of a life-saving vaccination campaign in Kenya’s Central and North Eastern Provinces.
Survey reveals high malnutrition rates among pregnant women in Kenya
NEW YORK, USA, 4 May 2006 – Pregnant women are showing even higher rates of malnutrition than children in parts of Kenya hit by the region’s worst drought in a decade. UNICEF nutritionists, who have surveyed remote communities in Moyale, Marsabit and Samburu districts, say their findings indicate an immediate need for more assistance to ensure the most vulnerable women and children survive what has become a chronic emergency.
Angélique Kidjo lifts children’s spirits at HIV clinic in Nairobi
NAIROBI, Kenya, 1 May 2006 – It was not a typical day for the children at the Githogoro Community Outreach Programme. In addition to their routine check-ups, they were treated to a visit late last week by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo, on the fourth day of her trip to Kenya. Earlier in the week the West African singer-songwriter had visited drought-affected communities in northern Kenya.
Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo witnesses devastation of drought in Kenya
NEW YORK, USA, 26 April 2006 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Oxfam campaigner Angélique Kidjo visited the drought-affected Wajir district in northern Kenya this week to raise awareness about the severe crisis that has devastated the Horn of Africa.
Stigma of AIDS leads to killing of an orphaned Kenyan boy
NEW YORK, USA, 21 April 2006 – The murder of a 15-year-old orphan stigmatized for living with AIDS has led hundreds of protestors to take to the streets of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The boy, Isaiah Gakuyo, had lost both his mother and grandmother to AIDS-related diseases. He was living with an uncle who allegedly stabbed him to death with a pitch-fork because of his HIV status.
Kenya’s abolition of school fees offers lessons for rest of Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya, 17 April 2006 – Maureen Akinyi, 14, dreamt of becoming an accountant and making it to the top of Kenya’s growing corporate sector. She came from a poor but relatively stable family in Kibera, a sprawling slum in Nairobi that is home to over 800,000 people.
Lessons learned: African countries share experiences with abolition of school fees
NEW YORK, USA , 5 April 2006 – School fees are keeping the most vulnerable children out of classrooms across the developing world. In countries where conflict, drought, famine and the HIV pandemic prevail, school fees hit these children the hardest. They need the safe environment, routine and services that schools can provide.
As drought lingers, Kenya’s nomadic Turkana tribes are among the worst affected
NEW YORK, USA, 21 March 2006 – The nomadic Turkana tribes of northeastern Kenya have been especially vulnerable to the severe year-long drought afflicting the Horn of Africa.
UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman: Urgent action needed in drought-stricken Horn of Africa
NEW YORK, USA, 7 February 2006 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman is calling for immediate action in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa to keep children from dying.
UNICEF appeals for $16 million to fund emergency drought relief in the Horn of Africa
NEW YORK, USA, 3 February 2006 – UNICEF has launched an appeal for $16 million dollars to fund emergency aid in the Horn of Africa. More than 8 million people in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti are affected by a worsening drought. With rain not due until April, UNICEF fears the situation will deteriorate even further.
Kenya’s malnourished children may have doubled in number due to drought
NEW YORK, USA, 20 January 2006 – UNICEF is warning that the number of severely malnourished children in drought-stricken Kenya may have doubled in the last few months. In October 2005 the figure was thought to be around 20,000. It’s now believed some 40,000 are in need of immediate life-saving assistance.
Starvation grips northern Kenya
NORTH EASTERN PROVINCE, Kenya, 12 January 2006 – Thousands of children are facing starvation due to deepening drought in northern Kenya. The government is distributing food rations to communities in the worst-affected areas and is appealing to the international community for urgent aid to save the lives of an estimated 2.5 million people.
Kenya: Regional disparities threaten progress towards education for all
LOKICHOGGIO, Kenya, 17 November 2005 – Far from the gleaming skyscrapers of downtown Nairobi, children in this remote corner of Kenya spend their school days wondering if they will eat a single meal.
Community group helps Kenyan orphans affected by HIV/AIDS
NEW YORK, USA, 9 November 2005 – Eleven-year-old Florence Kangai is one of over 3,000 children in the Kenyan town of Isiolo who have been orphaned by AIDS. Like many in this town, she needs anti-retroviral drugs to stay alive. But poor nutrition leaves her vulnerable to infections and illnesses.
Kenya launches UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS
NAIROBI, Kenya, 25 October 2005 – The Eastern and Southern Africa regional launch of UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS was attended by officials from UNICEF, UNAIDS, the African Union, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the National AIDS Control Commission of Kenya. But it was 11-year-old Florence and seven other children from Pepo la Tumaini Jangwani, a support programme assisting people affected by HIV/AIDS, who stole the show.
Kenya: UNICEF launches urgent appeal to assist up to 700,000 children
NAIROBI, 11 October, 2005 – In the face of mounting inter-ethnic violence and ongoing drought UNICEF has launched a polio vaccination campaign in Kenya to prevent the re-emergence of the disease. Over 483,000 children are expected to be immunized during the six-day campaign covering 12 of the country’s most affected districts: the border and coastal regions.
UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman says children are key to development
NAIROBI, 26 July 2005 – On Sunday 24 July UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman visited Wajir in Kenya’s North Eastern Province, to draw attention to the plight of children and women. The Province has suffered from years of neglect and exclusion, and faces significant challenges in its future development and progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai to world’s children: ‘The sky is the limit!’
NEW YORK, 28 January 2005 – Professor Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004, recently spoke with UNICEF about her experiences empowering women and children in her native Kenya for more than 30 years.
Water and sanitation bring children back to school
KENYA, 25 August 2004 - Safe water and adequate sanitation in schools are as important to quality education as books and pencils. But in many schools basic facilities are not provided. As a result, children may stay away.
