The Kenyan government plans to invest Ksh 2.3 billion (Appx $21.3 million) towards prevention of gender-based violence (GBV), and ultimately increase the funding to KSh 5 billion (Appx $46.4 million), President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Friday.
Kenyatta made the announcement during the virtual launch of the Kenyan chapter of Generation Equality Forum, and also enumerated various initiatives the government had put in place to ensure gender equity.
“When countries respect women rights, promote gender equality, and put women and girls at the centre of their development agenda, their societies and economies thrive, and those benefits extend far into future generations,” he said.
The president said the government would conduct a survey on GBV under the 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey in addition to developing a system for managing the vice.
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He further noted that GBV including medical, legal, and psychological support services would be integrated into the essential minimum package of UHC by 2022.
According to the United Nations, FGM is primarily concentrated in 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East, even though it is also practiced in some countries in Asia and Latin America.
The agency describes FGM as any procedure that involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. The vice is recognized internationally as a violation of human rights, the health and the integrity of girls and women.
The U.N. estimates that around 200 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM.
($1 = Ksh 107.65)
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