Challenges in the country’s social sectors remain, however, with the rise in fertility and child mortality rates, illustrating the difficulty that Kenyan women have had in benefiting from their country’s progress. Moreover, as HIV/AIDS continues to affect the population adversely, women are increasingly assuming untraditional roles as farm managers, heads of household, and owners of small- and micro-enterprises, roles in which development support could provide assistance.

USAID/Kenya recognizes that democratic changes must be accompanied by improvements in the socio-economic status of the people. After consulting with a wide range of the Kenyan population—rural and urban, men and women of all ages, households and individuals, farmers and formal sector employees—the Mission has implemented a development plan that addresses Kenya’s immediate and long-term needs. Gender is a vital component of current Mission programming, which aims to strengthen civil society and key institutions of democracy and governance, support agriculture and micro-enterprise development, enhance natural resource management, increase innovations in education, and improve health.

SELECTED ACTIVITIES:

Visit USAID/Kenya link to the Mission