• In 2019, Murang’a exhibited the highest prevalence of sexual violence against women aged between 15 and 49 years at 24.3 per cent.
• The policy expected to be adopted by the end of the year will promote the holistic growth and development of children.
Image: Alice Waithera
The Murang’a government has partnered with the Catholic church to formulate a policy that will promote a holistic growth and development of children.
Jane Karanja, who is in charge of the child protection desk at the Catholic Diocese of Murang’a, said they realised the county is faced by numerous cases of child neglect and abuse.
With a population of 1,056,609 people, the county has 110,514 children aged between zero and four years, 114,251 aged between 10 and 14 years and 105, 467 between 15 and 19 years.
The Kenya Demographic Health Survey conducted in 2022 indicated that the infant mortality rate for the county stood at 47 for every 1,000 live births, compared to the national rate of 21.
Further, only 31 per cent of homes had access to insecticide treated mosquito nets compared to 50 per cent nationally, while about 63 per cent of households had no medical insurance and 35 per cent had NHIF as their main insurance cover.
The county government has since implemented the Kanga’ata Care programme that has provided free insurance covers to more than 42,000 households through a partnership with NHIF.
“The County Integrated Development Plan provided for the establishment of a fund to strengthen NHIF coverage and cover the costs of mothers seeking pre- and postnatal care,” Karanja said.
The 2019 census also revealed that about 95.5 per cent of all births occur in hospitals, while the World Report 2021 indicated that 10 per cent of all children in the county had stunted growth and six per cent were underweight.
The county government has, however, initiated the County Nutrition Action Plan 2020-25 that has seen 42,000 ECDE learners benefit from a feeding programme to boost their nutrition and retaining them in school.
With about 102,527 residents with disabilities, 53.9 per cent are children aged below 14 years.
More than 100 cases of children neglect were reported between April and July 2022, most attributed to domestic violence.
According to the Violence Against Children Survey of 2019, half of all females and 18 per cent of all males experience sexual violence before the age of 18.
Image: Alice Waithera
Murang’a exhibited the highest prevalence of sexual violence against girls and women aged between 15 and 49 years at 24.3 per cent, which Karanja said was alarming.
The Kenya Health Information System shows in 2021, 43 per cent of all sexual and gender-based violence in Murang’a were adolescents aged 10 to 17 years.
“There was a 97 per cent rise in SGBV cases reported among adolescents between 2017 and 2019,” Karanja told a stakeholders forum.
In 2022 and 2023, Murang’a county recorded 276 children offenders while cases of theft of children were 78.
Forty children were booked in various police stations for possession of narcotics and 34 were found in breach of law for house-breaking.
Karanja said children matters require a multi-sectoral approach to prevent their abuse and neglect.
“We are using three approaches that include prevention, curative and follow up, and are partnering with several stakeholders,” she said.
Karanja said Bishop James Wainaina has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the county to have the policy established.
She said a technical working group has been established to steer the process and various stakeholders including administrators, child protection specialists, clergy, the Judiciary, security officers, children homes and day care facilities operators and traders have been engaged.
Murang’a, she said, will be the first county to draft a children's policy under the Children Act 2022 that has been adopted by the national government.
“As a church, we are celebrating this year as a year of children and have prioritised the welfare of children. We want to ensure this policy is not drafted in a boardroom and engages everybody,” she added.
The policy is expected to be finalised and adopted by the end of the year, she said. The process is being supported by Legacy for Children Kenya and NurtureFirst programmes.
Karanja said the department is at times overwhelmed by the number of children abuse and neglect cases reported and it works with various government agencies to have them resolved.
“The church realised it cannot work alone in matters children. In cases of defilement, we have to bring in the Children’s department and the police. We’re also working on reforming the county care reforms to better the welfare of children,” she said.
Karanja said it is the role of the government to designate areas in estates and villages where children can play, accessible to children with disabilities.
The county has 19 children institutions, two statutory children institution and two special therapeutic facilities with 635 children in residential care.