We work with the poorest people in Kenya, including nomadic communities living on a knife-edge, refugees from war-torn Somalia, and vulnerable children with uncertain futures.
One of Africa’s most developed countries, Kenya is also one of the most unequal - and more than half the population are children.
The places where we work present huge challenges, from severe drought conditions, a 500,000-strong refugee population and continuing issues of neonatal mortality, poor access to education, sexual violence.
Save the Children has been providing support to children in Kenya through our development and humanitarian programmes since 1950.
We work with communities, local partners, and the government to design and deliver programmes to meet the needs of the most deprived children. We work towards improving healthcare, sustainable livelihoods, child protection, education and disaster relief.
Meet Diana and her baby Blessings
Photo credit: Fredrik Lerneryd / Save the Children
Diana went into early labour when she was pregnant with her first child, Blessings.
“I was told that chances of survival were low.”
She was transferred from her local health center in Bungoma, Kenya, to a hospital with a specialist ward for premature births.
“They encouraged me, and they gave me hope."
Blessings weighed just 1kg when she was born. The pair have been staying in the Save the Children and GSK supported hospital for five weeks.
During this time, Diana practiced Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) with baby Blessings.
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a skin-to-skin connection between mother and baby, where the baby is held to the mother's chest using a sling for many hours.
It is a high-impact, low-tech, cost-effective intervention for saving preterm babies, which families can easily practice even at the community level.
We show mothers how to wrap, warm and feed their premature babies so they survive and thrive.
Rosemary, a midwife at the hospital, has been trained to support mothers with KMC. Rosemary explains:
“A baby who is under incubator care, power can go off and this baby will become hypothermic. But a baby who is on mother's chest there is constant warmth. There is also bonding - a mother learns early enough to bond with the child.”
Being born early should not condemn babies to a premature death. Every day, our doctors, nurses and health teams are saving lives in hard-to-reach communities around the world.
All children deserve the same chance to survive and thrive. We work to make sure all children get the care they need for the best possible start in life.
Page last updated April 2024
