Mount Kenya University has been designated as one of the global hubs for tackling social economic inequalities by a United Nations agency.
The United Nations Academic Impact said it had bestowed the status on the university for its research work on reducing inequalities in Kenya as well as the East African region.
UNAI designates institutions as hubs for their initiatives in promoting UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
“The United Nations Academic Impact welcomes Mount Kenya University as its hub for Sustainable Development Goal 10 for 2021-24,” United Nations Academic Impact Department of Global Communications chief Ramu Damodaran said.
On Wednesday, the university marked the International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) at its Thika campus.
IDFR was adopted by the UN General Assembly. It is observed on June 16 every year.
IDFR recognises the more than 200 million migrant workers who send money back home.
MKU Chancellor Prof John Struthers said, “As the SDG10 hub, MKU will come up with more elaborate strategies of marking this day in the future.”
According to the UN, remittances or cross-border person-to-person payments of relatively small value, serve as a vital lifeline to the developing world.
Families are able to achieve their own SDGs because they use the resources they receive for the transformation of local households and the community.
“Remittance flows have increased five-fold over the past 20 years, serving in a counter-cyclical capacity during economic downturns in recipient countries. Covid-19 has been a formidable test for global remittances," the UN says.
"However, early forecasts of sharp declines greatly underestimated the resilience in remittance flows. A May 2021 report by the World Bank reveals a drop in remittances of only 1.6 per cent in 2020, to US$540 billion from US$548 in 2019.”
The university’s upcoming graduation ceremony will be themed “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education”, which is in line with the recognition by the UN on inequality reduction.
The 19th graduation ceremony will be held virtually on August 6, 2021.