The Kenyan government has rolled out its first-ever national census on street families with an aim of providing valuable data and information for their proper rehabilitation, the country’s Ministry of Devolution and Planning has announced.
The survey which will cost KES 50 million ($500,000) will be conducted by the Special Programmes department in the Ministry in collaboration with Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), local media reports.
The ministry has noted that whereas the number of organisations supporting street families has grown exponentially, there is no marked reduction of street families in the counties.
According to the Special Programmes Principal Secretary Josephta Mukobe, the figures have remained elusive to statisticians and planners given the difficulties associated with conducting census on a highly mobile population.
“This situational analysis is not comprehensive and a more comprehensive analysis is recommended for the Fund to determine the current situation of street families especially in the light of devolution and growth of major towns and markets,” said Mukobe during a validation workshop on the National Policy on Street Families Rehabilitation.
She estimates the number of street people in the country to be around 250,000 to 300,000 with 60,000 in Nairobi with a projection that these numbers could have doubled across the 47 counties with the major cities and urban centres hosting the largest numbers.
“It is important to ensure that we are ready to address the street families phenomenon before it explodes. Specific measures have been highlighted that will address past weaknesses and short comings experienced by major actors and stakeholders in the street families’ sphere,” Lucy Yinda, Street Families Rehabilitation Fund chairperson said.
The exercise is expected to be completed by June.
