The 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey still paints a daunting picture of the nutritional situation of children, particularly under the age of five, placing Siaya county as one of the lowest ranking in Kenya. Although nutritional indicators have improved over the past decade, about one quarter of the children under the age of five are still stunted (39% in 2009, 27% in 2014), which is slightly above the national average rate (35% in 2009, 26% in 2014). However, mortality rates of children under the age of five are still very high (112 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014) and substantially above the national average rate (52 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014). Malnutrition is one of the most important contributing factors. Poor infant and young child feeding practices continue to prevail in Siaya County, with low rates of exclusive breastfeeding (36% of children under the age of six months in 2014), late introduction of complementary food and poor dietary diversity. Furthermore, Siaya County has the second highest HIV prevalence rate in Kenya, amounting to 23.7% in 2014 (national average 6% in 2014). Women are more affected than men. In order to increase the nutritional status of children under the age of five and women of reproductive age, the project aims to alleviate the most severe obstacles of poor Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) in Siaya County.

There are a variety of different state and non-state nutrition actors at different levels.  Progress in improving the nutritional status has been slow due to lack of coordination and holistic cross-sector planning. There is little political leadership and goodwill in championing adequate allocation of public financing for nutrition actions as only 4.5 percent of the 2014/2015 national budget was allocated to the public health sector. The shortfall is exacerbated by lack of a County Nutritional Action Plan. Most health facility staff in Siaya County do not have sufficient technical capacity to implement MIYCN thus little education on and promotion of High Impact Nutrition Interventions (HiNi) at community level.

At community level, awareness of MIYCN and its benefits, particularly for the development of children under the age of five, and nutritional needs of women of reproductive age is very low. At stakeholder level, experiences and evidence of effective MIYCN are hardly shared in Siaya County.

Expected Results

•  “Advocacy for political commitment” – Political commitment and good nutrition governance in Siaya County are strengthened and vulnerable groups are integrated in decision-making processes.
• „Capacity-building” –CSOs and state actors have a greater capacity (including human capacity) and improved skills and systems to respond to maternal and child nutrition needs in Siaya County.
•  “Sensitization and mobilization” – Targeted communities are informed and empowered to demand, access and utilize quality maternal and child nutrition services.
• “Evidence-building” – Evidence on effective nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific actions is built, discussed and disseminated.

Partner Organisations

• CARE Kenya
• Family Health Options Kenya
• Kisumu Medical Education Trust
• Ministry of Health
• County Government of SIAYA
• Ministry of Finance, Planning and Vision 2013
• Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries