Snapshot*
Population – 38 million
Internally displaced persons –200,000
Refugees – 173,700 (Somalia), 73,000 (Sudan), 16,400 (Ethiopia)
Life expectancy – 57 years old
Median age – 19 years old
Infant mortality rate – 56 deaths for every 1,000 live births
Fertility rate – 4.7 children per woman
HIV/AIDS rate – 7 percent (1.2 million)
Infectious disease risk – High
Literacy rate – 85 percent
Life in Kenya
Since gaining independence in 1963, Kenya has remained one of the most politically stable countries in Africa - until December 2007. The disputed presidential election ignited widespread violence that killed 1,000 and displaced at least 300,000. The political unrest left thousands without income or access to health services, and brutal clashes among political opponents left homes looted and communities destroyed. After much negotiation and international encouragement, the political deadlock between the two main rivals finally ended in April 2008 with the creation of a power-sharing government.
Even before the recent conflict erupted, Kenya ranked among the 30 poorest countries in the world. The largest slum in Nairobi, Kibera, is home to approximately one million people. Pre-election estimates suggest that 56 percent of Kenyans live below the poverty line and 44 percent are undernourished, as the majority of households experience chronic food insecurity. Kenya also struggles with one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. There are 2.5 million HIV-positive Kenyans, approximately 150,000 Kenyans are lost each year due to AIDS and roughly one million children have been left orphaned by the disease.
Helping Communities Help Themselves
Bringing Relief
International Medical Corps has worked in Kenya since 1998, providing local populations with the following services:
* Primary health care
* Secondary health care
* Maternal and child care
* Expanded immunization
* Mental health and psychosocial support
* Nutritional screening and therapeutic and supplemental feeding
* Water sanitation and hygiene promotion
* Sexual and gender-based violence support, education, and prevention
* Infectious disease, including malaria, prevention and control
* HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, and counseling
When the post-election violence broke out, International Medical Corps immediately deployed an emergency response team to address the primary health needs of Kenya’s displaced through mobile medical clinics. In this emergency, treatable, preventable disease, such as malaria, acute respiratory infections, and diarrhea, accounted for 65 percent of deaths among children under five and 48 percent of all deaths. To treat these common illnesses, International Medical Corps worked in collaboration with the Kenyan Red Cross so that medicines and health care were available to those affected.
When violence subsided, International Medical Corps, with funding from the Gates Foundation, also supported the rebuilding of one of Nairobi’s oldest and largest markets. The project provided jobs to over 200 men – all from Kibera slum – of different tribal backgrounds, as retails stalls were built from gum tree poles and iron sheets. Through this reconstruction, 3,500 businesses in Kenya’s slums were able to reopen.
International Medical Corps also operates an ambitious HIV/AIDS program, with the support of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that supports millions of affected Kenyans. Efforts are also made to protect the general population from malaria infection through the distribution of insecticide-treated nets and malaria prevention informational materials. With the support of the Starbucks Foundation, International Medical Corps has also made clean water available to one of Kenya’s most arid regions.
Enabling Self-Reliance
To make its efforts sustainable, International Medical Corps’ programs train Kenyans to fill the following roles in their programs:
* Health care workers - Provide primary health care through International Medical Corps-supported mobile clinics and health centers, as well as nutritional support in supplemental and therapeutic feeding centers
* Community health workers – Educate their peers in basic health care, including preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS
To prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, International Medical Corps emphasizes the importance of community outreach. By educating communities and engaging them in behavior change, International Medical Corps is working to lower Kenya’s staggering infection rate. For those already infected with HIV/AIDS, International Medical Corps trains local health workers to diagnose and treat the disease, including preventing mother-to-child transmission. These workers also help to increase patients’ compliance with HIV/AIDS treatment regimens, including the importance of nutrition in maintaining a healthy immune system.
Similar efforts are also being made to prevent, diagnose, and treat tuberculosis and malaria. A five-year CDC grant will allow International Medical Corps to implement comprehensive HIV/TB activities in all prisons in Kenya. And International Medical Corps has been able to accelerate its efforts to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality in Suba district through the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB.
You Can Help Build Change That Lasts
While the power-sharing agreement has ended the violence and instability, hundreds of thousands of Kenyans still require immediate assistance after losing their homes and livelihoods. Even before the elections sparked nationwide insecurity, International Medical Corps worked to build lasting change for Kenya’s most vulnerable, with efforts that helped bring clean water to arid regions, prevention and treatment programs to those living with HIV/AIDS, and life-saving skills and knowledge to thousands. With your support, we can continue making a positive and sustainable impact in Kenya by empowering local communities to direct their own recovery.
Help Kenya and other International Medical Corps programs worldwide.
*Statistics from U.S. Government