USAID in Kenya

In full, it is known as the United States Agency for International Development is the lead United States government agency that aims to end extreme poverty globally and empower buoyant democratic societies to comprehend their potential. (USAID, 2017) Some programmes set up in Kenya by USAID include: Feed the Future Kenya Innovation Engine, Kenya Agricultural Value Chain Enterprises (KAVES), Kenya Resilient Arid Lands Partnership for Integrated Development, Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth (PREG), Resilience and Economic Growth in Arid Lands - Improving Resilience (REGAL IR), Resilience and Economic Growth in Arid Lands – Accelerated Growth (REGAL-AG), Tegemeo Agricultural Policy Research and Analysis and Kenya Integrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Project (KIWASH).

The organization plays a critical role in helping the poorest and most vulnerable nations in the world, this is done through:

“Investing in agricultural productivity so countries can feed their people.

Combating maternal and child mortality and deadly diseases like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.

Providing life-saving assistance in the wake of disaster.

Promoting democracy, human rights and good governance around the world.

Fostering private sector development and sustainable economic growth.

Helping communities adapt to a changing environment.

Elevating the role of women and girls throughout all our work.” (USAID, 2017).

48 Millions of men, women and children benefit from these initiatives from the USAID. Per the UN Factsheet around 800million go to bed hungry every night, this even includes farmers.

The growing need to ensure food security is now more than ever. Women are a majority of these farmers. “A spike in world food prices in 2008 hurt economies across the world and led to destabilizing riots in over 30 countries. In order to feed a population expected to grow to 9 billion people by 2050, the world will have to double its current food production, all while with less water and land.” (USAID, 2017) In the fight against hunger and achieving food security, USAID is showing its contributions through the following steps so as to achieve poverty reduction in the world,

“Investing in cutting-edge scientific and technological agricultural research to develop stronger seeds and greener fertilizers so farmers can grow more.

Developing agricultural markets, expanding trade and using mobile phones to provide real-time prices, so farmers can sell what they grow at a profit.

Helping farmers access capital, so they can expand their farms and buy equipment.

Offering extension services, so farmers can learn the best techniques to grow and store their crops.

Developing sustainable agriculture strategies, so countries can feed their populations without depleting their natural resources.

Providing emergency food assistance, so vulnerable populations and malnourished can survive and quickly bounce back in times of crisis.” (USAID, 2017)

Kenya participates in the USAID's Women and Girls Lead Global Partnership. In gender equality and women empowerment, USAID believes that it is the core part of development, this is per their USAID strategy. It is said that 98 million girls globally aren’t in school, while one in every three women are prone to domestic violence. Child marriages are still ongoing currently, child brides usually start from the age of eight. 287,000 women and 99% of them from developing countries die from pregnancy and child related problems (USAID, 2017).

This is the challenge that the world faces. With more than 80 different countries with gender programmes. Developing countries are persuaded by USAID to continue advancing policy

49 changes to a more gender sensitive way, in food security as well as access to resources such as land and finances. The critical steps taken by the USAID organization to end extreme poverty globally includes:

“Investing in cutting-edge scientific and technological agricultural research to develop stronger seeds and greener fertilizers so farmers can grow more.

Developing agricultural markets, expanding trade and using mobile phones to provide real-time prices, so farmers can sell what they grow at a profit.

Helping farmers access capital, so they can expand their farms and buy equipment.

Offering extension services, so farmers can learn the best techniques to grow and store their crops.

Developing sustainable agriculture strategies, so countries can feed their populations without depleting their natural resources.

Providing emergency food assistance, so vulnerable populations and malnourished can survive and quickly bounce back in times of crisis.

Leverage existing development capacities and priorities towards ending extreme poverty - such as increasing food security, promoting child survival, adapting to climate change through climate resilient growth, strengthening health systems, expanding access to renewable energy, and improving education.

Invite new ideas and fresh perspectives to development efforts, to find innovative solutions to longstanding and seemingly intractable development challenges.

Bolster economic growth and connect people to the global economy and more effectively engage in fragile contexts, where we project extreme poverty will become increasingly concentrated in the coming decades.

Strengthen the underlying mechanisms of voice and accountability through the promotion of democracy, human rights and governance.

Priorities the intersection between extreme poverty and fragility - and, in particular, building on our leadership on the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States and on resilience to recurrent crises.” (USAID, 2017).

50 Through family planning, maternal and child health care and nutrition, USAID is aiming to reduce less child and maternal death. They also aim to reduce the deaths caused by infectious diseases. The Kenyan government is working alongside USAID to eradicate poverty, unnecessary deaths, hunger. The following section will name some of the programmes initiated towards gender equality and women empowerment.