A buffer against the drought

The Government of Kenya in partnership with DFID undertake a long term social protection program(Hunger Safety Net Program) in Northern Kenya reaching out to poor households with bi monthly cash transfers. So much investment has been put in this program including pre-registration and carding of beneficiaries(both those receiving regular cash and those receiving once in a while when a shock increases beyond a certain threshold.

The Hunger safety program uses Equity bank as a delivery mechanism and have a long standing pre-agreement. Kenya Red Cross Society decided to explore the use of this existing platform to support thousands of drought hit affected families in Turkana county in the year 2017. Kenya Red Cross Society targeted carded but needy HSNP beneficiaries who dont receive regular cash transfers. And it also used the Equity bank as delivery mechanism. This document highlights the successes, challenges and lessons learnt in the said program