Learnings and innovations in social protection for older people in urban Kenya

Like many countries in the world, Kenya is experiencing a notable demographic transformation, with the number of older people consistently increasing. A recent World Bank report indicates that older people in Kenya currently constitute close to 6 percent of the country’s more than 53 million people, which means around 3.2 million people.1 The Kenyan 2010 Constitution (Article 260) defines an ‘older member of society’ as anyone aged 60 or over. Population ageing in Kenya has been on a steady increase, partly due to improved healthcare, which has led to an increased life expectancy of around 61 years.2 The population ageing in Kenya and elsewhere in the world has been accompanied by rapid urbanisation as a result of massive inflows of people into cities in search of better life opportunities. This phenomenon has presented several unique challenges to older people in urban areas, with the majority of them living below the poverty line.3 The older urban poor face many problems, including limited work opportunities, poor healthcare access, degenerative and chronic diseases, ageism, abuse, low literacy level and digital inequity, among other socio-economic challenges.4 In addition, poor housing conditions, social isolation and the high cost of living leave poor older people in urban areas even more vulnerable than their rural counterparts. Despite Kenya’s efforts to improve the livelihoods of older people, the government still faces challenges to effective policy design and implementation, including resource constraints, efficiency, and data gaps.5 To address some of these challenges, the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Dévelopment – AFD) funded the Inua Jamii 70+ (IJ70+) project, which was implemented with the goal to improve social protection and health systems. The project’s specific focus was on marginalised older people in Nairobi, Kenya. This study aimed to identify the key learnings and innovations of the AFD IJ70+ project. The project emphasised three aspects of accessing social protection services: an integrated approach to health care insurance and cash transfers, the use of technology to access cash transfers for older people, and innovative capacity-building initiatives to enable older people to amplify their voices and stand up for their rights.