MILLENNIUM
DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDG) PROGRESS IN KENYA
Kisumu Investment Promotion Day 10th
July 2008
The official launch of the Kisumu Investment
Promotion Day in Kisumu on 10 July 2008
is a great milestone in rallying various
stakeholders to team up with the Government
in addressing the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). Ms Tomoko Nishimoto, UNDP
Country Director Kisumu, and Hon Wycliffe
Oparanya Minister for Planning and Vision
2030 joined investors in launching the
day. Kisumu just like many other similar
cities in the world, is a locus of major
economic, social, demographic, and environmental
transformation. It is envisaged that in
the next few years, cities such as Kisumu
will shape the prospects of economic growth
and poverty alleviation, population stability,
environmental sustainability and human
rights realization. This can only happen
when there is concerted effort to attract
and retain both local and foreign investment
in the cities, ultimately resulting in
the creation of much needed additional
employment opportunities. The Government
officially launched its new long-term
development blueprint for the period 2008
to 2030 and the first 5 year Medium Term
Plan. UNDP-Kenya and the Government jointly
explore this unique opportunity to address
poverty and inequality by underscoring
the important role of partnerships in
achievement of National Development Objectives
and informed by the Millennium Development
Goals.
Click to Read speech
OTHER PROJECT INFORMATION
MDG Sectorwide reports available
The Millennium Development Goals Needs Assessment
report on goal number three to promote Gender
Equality and Women Empowerment is a publication
that explains among other things the importance
of recognizing the need for women's economic rights,
access to employment, appropriate working conditions
and control over the economic resources, markets
and trade.
Education and training enhance the women and
men's attainment of overall social economic advancement,
improvement of their literacy levels and enhancement
of their earning capacities and thus lowers their
incidence of poverty. On page 18, the book elaborates
on why enrolment of girls is lower at secondary
schools level as compared to that of boys. Women
and health, the book explains why maternal mortality
has been on the rise 365 in 1993 to 590 by 1998.
The book also comes at a timely period in Kenya's
history (General election year). The section on
'Women in Power and decision making' reveals that
over the years there has been an under-representation
of women in parliament.Click
to read the 2006 MDG sectorwide reports that have
been published jointly by UNDP and Embassy of
Finland.
Launch of the Government-CSOs partnership
on localizing MDG -12 March 2008
The official launch of the Government-CSOs partnership
on localizing MDGs is a great milestone in rallying
various stakeholders to team up with the Government
in addressing the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). The MDGs represent commitments by all
countries and stakeholders including Civil Society
Organizations (CSOs) to collaborate in implementing
strategies that are geared towards better quality
of life for citizens. This initiative, therefore,
is a testimony of the commitment of the Government
in working with other stakeholders to achieve
various national goals and objectives, especially
the MDGs. National strategies to achieve the MDGs
require full support and involvement of Civil
Society Organizations (CSOs). CSOs play a unique
role among the stakeholders in development since
they represent important segments of the population
whom they relate directly with and therefore better
understand what affects these communities most.
This is indeed the reason why the government has
confidence in working with CSOs to ensure the
realization of MDGs at community level. The government
is aware that CSOs have the capacity to contribute
to national and community levels with initiatives
that can turn around the economy to achieve the
MDGs. The government is also aware that CSOs are
excellent in advocacy/public awareness work, monitoring
and evaluation (M&E) activities, hands on
engagement with the communities among others.
Kisumu Investment Guide with Millennium Cities
Initiative
This roundtable was attended by 200 participants
that included representatives of the private sector
from Europe, their counterparts in Kenya, representatives
from various government departments led by the
Ministry of Planning and National Development
Permanent Secretary Dr. Edward Sambili, Civil
Society Representatives and members of the 4th
Estate. The meeting dubbed 'Kisumu Day' coincided
with the Commemorations of the IDEP and aimed
at discussing Kisumu's investment potential with
business delegations from Europe and Kisumu. The
meeting also saw the launch of the Kisumu Investment
Guide as well as the inauguration of the Kenya
Investment Promotion Office; especially tapping
on the kind of opportunities that Kisumu provides
in terms of markets in and around the East African
region.Click to read
the Kisumu Investment guide
UNDP
Flagship report is the Human Development
Report
The
Human Development Report is an annual
global publication that reviews the status
and progress on different facets of human
development. The first HDR in Kenya was
published in 1999 and focused on the themes
of gender and poverty. The Human Development
Report is devoted to assessing where the
greatest problems are, analyzing what
needs to be done to reverse these setbacks
and offering concrete proposal on how
to accelerate progress everywhere towards
achieving these goals. Human Development
Reports in Kenya are produced by UNDP
regularly, providing high quality, long-term
insight into thematic or sectoral concerns
that are of an overriding nature within
the evolving historical context of Kenya.More