Sida's work in Kenya
Inequality, widespread corruption and extreme weather, exacerbated by climate change, are challenges in Kenya. Sida contributes to increased resilience to climate crises and reduced environmental degradation, democratic development and increased respect for human rights, gender equality and economic development for the benefit of all people.
Important thematic areas in Kenya
Why do Sida work in Kenya?
Climate change causes water, food shortages and conflict
In recent years, climate change has caused heavy rainfall and flooding and the worst drought in 40 years, causing an emergency and shortage of food and water. Conflicts between herders and between livestock and nature conservation interests have become more frequent due to increased competition for water and grazing land.
Gaps and inequalities are increasing
Around 20 per cent, nearly nine million people live in extreme poverty, the vast majority in rural areas. Inequality is high – both economically and between urban and rural areas and between women and men. Youth unemployment is high, especially among young women.
Violations of human rights
Corruption permeates the entire society, which particularly harms those living in poverty and reduces the population’s trust in society. The country’s media and civil society are vibrant but are constrained by laws and threats. Some politicians and religious leaders want to tighten laws that restrict the rights of LGBTI people.
Examples of what Sida contributes to:
Increasing resilience to climate change
Sida supports peace building and people’s resilience to crises in the most vulnerable regions to prevent increased poverty and new conflicts. Sida supports people affected by severe drought with cash assistance, food and access to drinking water for people, livestock and wildlife. The aid enables people to switch to more sustainable and climate-friendly agriculture and increases access to renewable energy.
Increased security and employment
Sida’s support strengthens people’s opportunities for meaningful employment with dignified conditions. Through investments in vocational training, business development and entrepreneurship and access to financing for vulnerable groups, employment is increased. It also strengthens and develops Kenya’s social and child protection system, giving more people access to social services. With increased social security, people can improve their livelihoods, get more nutrition, afford education and health care, which also strengthens gender equality.
Strengthening democracy and human rights
Sida’s support strengthens civil society organisations that work to increase respect for human rights, especially for the most vulnerable groups in society. Through Sida, human rights organisations can, for example, participate in and influence political processes. Support for the agricultural sector and climate adaptation also increases people’s ability to participate in decision-making processes that affect the society in which they live. Sida also strengthens the LGBTI movement and the ability of the judicial system to treat all people equally before the law.
Sida’s support to Kenya
Development cooperation in Kenya strengthens resilience – for people, the economy and the climate. Aid also goes to conflict prevention, anti-corruption and trade, areas that are also important regionally. A stable Kenya benefits far more than its own population and national interests.
Much of Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP) comes from the country’s unique natural environment and agriculture, which also provide the majority of the people’s livelihoods. But deforestation, pollution and destruction of agricultural land threaten biodiversity, human health and livelihoods, and lead to conflicts over land and water. In recent years, climate change has caused severe droughts and heavy rains and floods. Combined with economic uncertainty, this makes it increasingly difficult for people to get enough food and earn a living. People living in poverty in rural areas are particularly affected.
Despite accounting for less than 0.1 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, Kenya is an active participant in global efforts to stop temperature rise. Almost all the energy from the national grid, around 90 per cent, comes from renewable energy, which is three times more than the global average. The country’s ambition is to reach 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030 and zero emissions by 2050.
Sida works together with the UN and the EU, among others, to help Kenya achieve the Global Goals. Sida supports green transition and digitalisation, as well as climate adaptation so that the population can better withstand climate change. Sida increases people’s access to renewable electricity and ensures that natural resources are used more sustainably. Here are some of the programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Through its support to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Sida support the country to cope better with recurring crises. It includes increasing access to clean water by using drip irrigation and solar-powered boreholes. WFP is also training smallholder farmers in climate-smart agriculture and diversifying their income by investing in beekeeping, fish farming and poultry rearing. Farmers can borrow money to adapt and develop their farms. It also supports the government’s efforts to enable the country’s regions to plan, budget and invest in climate change adaptation.
The Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) programme, implemented by the World Bank together with Kenyan authorities, helps to reduce carbon emissions and increase resilience to climate change.
Through the IMARA programme, marginalised households become better at conserving and creating sustainable ecosystems for people, livestock and wildlife. This helps enable households to get paid by companies for their work in preserving ecosystems.
Women and men are empowered to face the crises that come in the wake of climate change. For example, women and young people are involved in businesses producing honey, rubber and fodder. Land is being rehabilitated and trees replanted, access to water is increasing, and households are using energy-efficient biogas stoves.
The programme also contributes to peace building and conflict resolution. It also includes the development of policies and legislative proposals in the field of environment and climate change.
The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) preserves biodiversity while improving the lives of people living in poverty. AWF plans how to use land so that people and wildlife can coexist. This is especially true in the areas outside and between national parks and protected areas. An important factor in increasing sustainability is that local communities, counties and the state share revenues from nature conservation, but also the costs of losses associated with human-wildlife conflicts.
REACT is a renewable energy fund that provides financing to companies whose products and services increase access to electricity and clean cooking methods for low-income people.
The Modern Cooking Facility for Africa works closely with the private sector to increase access to clean cooking methods in Kenya.
The Green Financing Facility is a fund developed by Sida together with the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, to phase out UNHCR’s use of fossil fuels in around 500 offices worldwide. The fund also finances the transition from diesel generators to solar power in one of the world’s largest camps for displaced people, located in Kakuma.
People’s political and human rights are increasingly violated and authorities use violence, torture and executions. The judiciary has made important progress in becoming independent, but there are still challenges with widespread corruption and impunity, which means that the justice system remains inadequate and people are not treated equally before the law.
Kenya’s civil society and media sector are constrained by laws. Many journalists and activists face threats and violence. Police brutality, executions, and political and ethnic violence are common.
Gender equality has improved slightly in recent years, but men’s violence against women is still common. The country’s politicians and religious leaders want to tighten laws that restrict the rights of LGBTI people.
Therefore, Sida supports democratic development: moving power closer to the population, increasing respect for human rights and contributing to increased gender equality. Here are some examples of organisations that Sida supports:
Through Diakonia and Forum Civ, Sida supports some 30 civil society organisations that work to increase gender equality, respect for human rights and to give citizens greater opportunities to hold decision-makers to account. The support helps people to gain better knowledge of their rights and to create new platforms for holding those responsible to account. Sida also provides support to human rights defenders through the local National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders (NCHRD).
Sida’s contributes to a rule of law that treats all citizens equally and complies with laws and regulations. This is done, for example, through the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), which cooperates with public authorities.
Since Kenya adopted a new constitution in 2010, several authorities are developing their work. The Kenyan tax and statistics authorities and the police cooperate with corresponding Swedish authorities to develop their activities. For example, Sida supports the co-operation between the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, which focuses on producing reliable and useful gender statistics.
Through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Sida is supporting Kenya’s decentralisation process, which means moving political power closer to the citizens – from the President to Parliament and counties. The aim is to empower Kenyans in politics, prevent ethnic tensions and increase access to social services. The programme focuses in particular on increasing the participation of women, young people and people with disabilities.
Kenya is the economic centre of the region, but the market still needs to develop so that the country can participate in international trade. Despite economic development, economic disparities continue to widen. Unemployment is high and the majority of people work in the informal sector, often with low pay and no employment protection. Small business development is progressing. Creativity and ingenuity are high. However, businesses find it difficult to compete on the international market due to high taxation, high costs and widespread corruption.
Sida works to ensure that the economy benefits the most vulnerable people, to support small businesses and create more jobs to increase livelihoods. Providing people living in poverty with increased access to basic social services is an important part of this work. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Unemployment is particularly high among young people in rural areas. The Generation Kenya programme helps young people living in poverty get meaningful jobs with good conditions. They provide training and then match young people with companies that want to hire them. The programme involves over 350 companies in Kenya.
The Public-Private Development Partnership (PPDP) programme contributes to inclusive economic development through meaningful jobs in the Great Rift Valley. The aim is to reduce poverty and improve living conditions for people in vulnerable communities in Narok and Nakuru counties. This is done by supporting vocational training based on the skills needs of potential employers, as well as training in entrepreneurship and business development.
The programme also empowers people and communities to claim their rights in terms of access to basic services such as water, education, health and sanitation (toilets, sewerage, waste management).
Kenya is one of the largest host countries in Africa for people forced to flee. Around 500 000 people are displaced in the country or seeking asylum, about half of whom are of working age. Of those who do work, the vast majority are employed in the informal sector, meaning they are excluded from the financial system. Wages are often low and conditions are poor. Under Kenyan law, they are allowed to start and run businesses, but opportunities are very limited due to lack of funding and business skills.
Sida supports both the communities where they live and their businesses, including through training to increase knowledge about running a business. Through the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), people living as refugees are given the opportunity to start and run businesses. DRC also increases the financial sector’s knowledge of lending money to people that have fled and their businesses and the communities in which they live.
The programme is part of a guarantee with KCB bank. The guarantee works so that Sida provides money as security, which means that the bank dares to lend money and investors dare to invest in loans to entrepreneurs.
Many Kenyans living in poverty lack access to basic social services. Together with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Sida is strengthening Kenya’s efforts to improve the National Social Protection Programme (NSNP) to ensure that the most vulnerable groups, such as children, the elderly and people with disabilities, have access to health care, food and cash assistance.
Millions of Kenyans are in need of humanitarian support due to a multi-year drought and subsequent heavy flooding in 2024. Many refugees from Somalia and South Sudan have made their way to Kenya and need humanitarian support for their basic needs. Sida’s humanitarian assistance provides people with access to food, health care, water and sanitation, education and protection.
Sida works with international humanitarian and civil society organisations and prioritises the people most in need of support.
Sida’s humanitarian support in Kenya saves lives and alleviates suffering.
Learn more about Sida’s analysis of the humanitarian crisis, Sida’s support and how much money is distributed to each organisation in Sida’s crisis analysis.
Updated: July 7, 2025