The government of Kenya has renewed its commitment to intensify efforts to curb gender-based violence.
The principal secretary for the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, Anne Wang’ombe, vowed to work closely with county governments to ensure sustainability of the fight against the menace.
Speaking during an evaluation meeting of the Kenya-Finland Bilateral Programme in Kilifi, Wang’ombe said the national government was determined to end femicide and gender-based violence even as the programme lapses and issued a stern warning to the perpetrators.
“On behalf of the government of Kenya, I am here to assure you that we are committed to ensuring that this initiative continues beyond the life of this bilateral agreement that we have had with Finland. We are determined to bring this GBV to an end, and we are sending a warning to all perpetrators that these offences will not go unpunished,” Anne said.
Her sentiments were echoed by Kilifi County Woman Member of Parliament Gertrude Mbeyu, who condemned femicide and gender-based violence cases and also said that continuity of the programme would further ensure not only the empowerment of the entire county but also the taming of the vices.
“They have left us with knowledge, and, as a county, we are determined to soldier on in conjunction with the Ministry. This programme must continue so that we may come up with a way of training more counsellors,” Mbeyu said.
The head of cooperation at the Finland Embassy, Anu Ala-Rantala, urged the government to intensify the fight against the rising cases of femicide and GBV.
Anu said both the national and county governments must pump in more resources for capacity building while calling on counsellors trained through the programme in Bungoma, Kilifi, and Samburu counties to be ambassadors to other neighbouring counties so as to create awareness on the lessons learnt through the program.
The Kenya-Finland Bilateral programme was initiated in 2021, covering the three counties, with its main focus being building the capacity of duty bearers, who consisted of officers from the health department, nyumba kumi, administrative officers, teachers, and others who were trained on counselling psychology, drug and substance abuse, and mediation for nine months.
The program is scheduled to be phased out by the end of February 2025.
By Stephen Mrira