During the week of January 16-20, Results Canada had the opportunity to take 4 Members of Parliament (MPs), MP Scott Aitchison, MP Valerie Bradford, MP Iqwinder Gaheer, and MP Eric Melillo, to see the challenges of and solutions to global poverty in Kenya. We explored programs reaching the most marginalized with life-saving interventions, focusing on early childhood development, tuberculosis, maternal health and nutrition, and education, among other high-impact initiatives. We approached all our visits with a cross-cutting lens on gender equality and localization.
Kenya is a strategic choice to examine the impact of equitable access to health and education for several reasons. In Kenya, roughly 36.1% of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.90 per day. A harsh climate, with cyclical droughts, disproportionally impacts the most marginalized populations, especially women and children. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated these vulnerabilities. Although there has been steady progress, with support from donors like Canada, challenges remain with high rates of youth unemployment, income inequality, a vulnerable economy, and a lack of access to and quality in the health care sector. The delegation provided a unique opportunity to see firsthand what Kenya is doing to address these pressing issues.
Thanks to the support of partners in Kenya like ACTION partner KANCO, UNICEF, Nutrition International, FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, Stop TB Partnership and TB Alliance, we were able to meet with Canadian international development organizations, Kenyan Government officials, local civil society organizations, community health care workers and community members. The delegates had a briefing at the Official Residence of the High Commissioner of Canada to Kenya and a meeting with Kenyan parliamentarians.
A few highlights from our visits stand out:
All the MPs returned to Canada having learned the role our government can play in fostering impactful development policy and support, which is especially important as we advocate for an increase in Canadian aid in the 2023 budget with our #KeepThePromise campaign. Here’s what the MPs had to say about their experience:
The MPs were also kind enough to answer questions asked by volunteer advocates about the MPs' reflections on the delegation and their involvement with international development. Find out what they had to say:
Want to see more? Find our Executive Director Chris Dendys’ reflections on the delegation on our Instagram Reels!