Kenya is empowering refugees and host communities in Dadaab and Kakuma through a transformative integration model, says Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
Speaking in Japan, Mudavadi said the pioneering Shirika Plan launched by the Government in March this year has shifted refugees’ management from a humanitarian aid-based model to a development-centred approach that is benefiting thousands of refugees and their hosts.
Over 70,000 refugees have been registered in the Social Health Insurance Fund, and thousands of learners are benefiting from quality education in 100 refugee schools registered under the Kenya National Education Management Information System, he said.
“We have integrated refugees with host communities, empowering them to be self-reliant and resilient,” said Dr. Mudavadi during a session on Economic Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons in Africa held on the sidelines of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development. “Shirika Plan has transformed refugee camps into integrated settlements, enabling refugees to access economic opportunities and social services, including education and healthcare, just like Kenyans,” he said.
Kenya hosts over 850,000 refugees, mainly in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps. The Shirika Plan has benefited 8,000 refugee learners who have received Elimu Scholarships under the Kenya Equity in Learning Program, that has also deployed government teachers to the schools.
Other benefits include recognition of prior learning, enabling 145 refugees to have their skills and qualifications recognised through assessments by the Kenya National Qualifications Authority. This certification has enhanced the employability of the beneficiaries.
Mudavadi, who participated in a roundtable on Promoting Economic Inclusion and Self-Reliance of Forcibly Displaced Persons in Africa, highlighted how Kenya has facilitated the refugees to have proper identification documents to enable them access government services.
The documents registered under the Integrated Population Registration System include asylum seekers’ passes, proof of registration, movement passes, letters of recognition, refugee identity cards, and conventional travel documents.
The humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach to management of refugees emphasises strengthened international cooperation, sustainable financing models that promote burden and responsibility sharing, and the active engagement of the private sector. Furthermore, it addresses the root causes of large-scale displacement through targeted peacebuilding efforts in countries of origin.
Further, he underscored the socioeconomic impact of integrating refugees, including tapping into their knowledge, technical, and entrepreneurial skills, innovation, consumer power, and fiscal benefits.
He elaborated on the challenges of sustaining the integration process, mainly due to funding constraints, urging the development community and the private sector to step up their contributions. Collaboration with these two groups of actors is particularly crucial now that potential support from traditional donors is at risk due to the changing global geopolitical and economic dynamics.
The side event was hosted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and co-hosted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The other key speakers included Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Mr. Matsumoto Hisashi, Japan’s Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Haoliang Xu, Acting UNDP Administrator, and Mr. Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner (Operations) at UNHCR.
