Children’s CSOs urge for budget allocation of privileges
This call follows revelations that Parliament has redirected billions of shillings originally allocated for public school students to fund expenses related to public participation.
Civil society organizations championing children’s rights are urging the government to honor its national commitments regarding children’s rights during the current deliberations on the 2025-2026 budget.
This call follows revelations that Parliament has redirected billions of shillings originally allocated for public school students to fund expenses related to public participation, as well as the administration and invigilation of national exams in the 2025/26 fiscal year.
Hosted by Plan International and World Vision, the organizations voiced serious concerns yesterday about unmet policy commitments for children, highlighting notable cuts in the budget for the upcoming financial year.
The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) under the Joining Forces Alliance (JFA) were responding to a report by the National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee (BAC), which showed that lawmakers prioritized funding for the examination process, allocating Sh11 billion, a figure originally included in the National Treasury’s budget estimates.
"We are already seeing children’s voices and concerns, along with the National Treasury’s guidelines on expenditure for children’s rights, increasingly sidelined during budget reviews," the JFA representatives stated during a meeting held at a Nairobi hotel.
The alliance comprises World Vision, Child Fund, Terre des Hommes Netherlands, SOS Children’s Villages, Save the Children, Mtoto News, and Plan International.
In addition to questioning the provisions for children in the next financial year, the CSOs also scrutinized the current 2024-2025 budget, seeking clarity on the actual allocations made for children.
"We need to ask ourselves, in terms of children’s rights, including education, healthcare, access to clean and safe water, and protection from hunger what is being spent on these rights? And more importantly, are children actually benefiting from these expenditures?" the organizations challenged.
