The development issues that the mission focuses on are organized around three sub-themes: MDGs, infrastructure and Environmental management and climate change

Millennium Development Goals

In September 2000, acknowledging the urgent need to free men, women and children from the dehumanizing condition of extreme poverty, 189 member states of the United Nations adopted the Millennium Declaration, whose main aim was to define a global vision for development by 2015. Kenya was among the first signatories to this declaration. With the approval of the Millennium Declaration, 192 countries and at least 23 international organizations committed themselves to achieve a set of development goals by the year 2015.

The set of eight goals, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are:

  • To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
  • To achieve Universal Primary education.
  • To promote gender equality and empowerment of women.
  • To reduce child mortality.
  • To improve maternal health.
  • To combat HIV and Aids, malaria and other diseases.
  • To ensure environmental sustainability.
  • To develop a global partnership for development.

For the eight goals, there are a total of 21 targets, and 68 quantifiable indicators to guide each developing country in focusing and measuring progress.

Kenya’s Position

Achieving MDGs is core to Kenya’s development agenda evidenced by the strides she has made in each of the eight goals on the Africa’s progress on MDGs. The government of Kenya with the enactment of the current constitution will avail more resources to programmes directly linked to the people and accelerating the attainment of MDGs in all the eight sectors.  In its effort to achieve this, the new constitution provides for channeling of 15% of the national budget to the counties, up from the current 2.5% CDF fund, in an effort to boost efforts towards the MDGs, and achievement of the Social Pillar of Vision 2030.  This is aimed as people empowerment through the unlocking of the potential for development of the country. This strategic document isolates human capability as a core driver to transforming the economy, politics and social capabilities of the country.

Furthermore, the new constitution (August 2010) has placed additional responsibility on the government by guaranteeing environment, economic and social rights that give citizen a wide range of rights in the social sector thereby giving constitutional support to attainment of most MDGs.

Infrastructural Development

The scope of work in this area extends to a focus on the drivers of development, in particular efforts aimed at developing physical and technological infrastructure to support the realization of the human and natural potential of Kenya, the region and Africa.

In this regard, the mission engages in all activities to promote

  • The development of regional physical infrastructural development, including road, rail and air networks
  • ICT advancement in particular the promotion of the sea cabling in the regional and the continent, which reduces the cost of doing business and cooperation, and
  • The search for appropriate technologies to translate the Africa potential, be it in agriculture or value addition in other sectors, into benefits for the peoples of Africa.

 

Vision 2030-Konza City

Environmental Management and Climate Change

An issue that is increasingly becoming a determinant of Africa’s development path is the environment and climate change.  Kenya has identified environmental diplomacy as a significant pillar of its foreign policy. In view of the reality that Africa is posed to suffers more from environmental degradation and climate change, the continent is engaging in all discussions to ensure that efforts in environmental management generates the decisions that protect Africa’s environment.  This is critical in view of the increasing attention towards Africa’s resources.

Kenya’s seeks to contribute to deliberations and decisions that promote sustainable methods of environmental management that would be undertaken within a coherent, effective international environmental governance framework that ensures full and effective African participation – through among other factors, the enhanced role and mandate of UNEP.

Role of the Mission

The role of the mission in the pursuit of the Development/Millennium Development Goals includes to:

  • Strengthen the coordination, reporting and monitoring systems between government departments on one hand and between government and development partners.
  • In support of implementation of activities and related initiatives the Mission creates facilitates information flow on experiences and progress in Kenya as they relate to initiatives such as Economic Stimulus Package, Njaa Marufuku Kenya, Kazi Kwa Vijana, Quick Wins, Women and Youth Enterprise Funds among others.
  • Engage in all efforts and activities that seek to enhance the sustainable management of the environment and stem the rapid climate change that has adverse effect on the continent.
  • Interact with all actors, in particular the UNECA, the African Development bank, World Bank and the EU among others, that are operating out of Addis Ababa promote the development of Africa’s regional infrastructure.

Strategic Initiatives

  • Support the ratification and domestication of all instruments that seek to actualize all the MDGs
  • Engage in activities that seek to grow negotiations for the international cooperation that supports the realization of the MDGs.
  • Building on existing political good will and greater demonstration of the importance of the impact the attainment of the goals can have on the country’s development is vital.
  • Finally, the government needs to raise the profile of MDGs throughout the country and at all levels.  MDGs activities be infused into other devolved development agenda with the participation of the people.
  • Contribute towards efforts to ensure global mechanisms for stemming climate change and to ensure sustainable environmental management.