State releases Sh850.7m Inua Jamii to 425,348 households

The Government has released Sh850.696 million to 425,348 households caring for orphans and vulnerable children under the cash transfer for orphans and vulnerable children programme.

This will provide much-needed support to vulnerable families amid continued efforts to strengthen the social protection system.

Gender, Culture and Children Services Cabinet Secretary Hanna Wendot Cheptumo said the funds cover the July 2026 payment cycle, with each beneficiary household receiving Sh2,000.

The payments began on Tuesday, September 1, through the Government’s contracted Payment Service Provider.

“The Ministry, through the State Department for Children Services, has disbursed a total of Eight Hundred and Fifty Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-Six Thousand Shillings (Sh850,696,000) to 425,348 beneficiaries under the Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC) Programme,” Cheptumo said.

“This disbursement covers the July 2026 payment, and each beneficiary household is receiving Sh2,000,” she added.

The CT-OVC programme is part of the wider Inua Jamii National Safety Net Programme, which provides cash assistance to some of Kenya’s most vulnerable households. Other beneficiaries include older persons aged 70 and above and persons with severe disabilities.

The CT-OVC programme was launched in 2004 in response to the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which left many children orphaned or vulnerable.

It is designed to support extremely poor households caring for such children while enabling them to remain within their families and communities rather than being placed in institutional care.

Beyond providing financial assistance, the programme seeks to improve children’s welfare by supporting enrolment, attendance and transition in basic education.

It also aims to improve household food consumption and food security, promote civil registration and strengthen access to essential services.

Eligibility is targeted at extremely poor households with at least one orphan or vulnerable child as a permanent member. Households may also qualify where the caregiver is chronically ill and unable to perform caregiving duties, subject to programme conditions.

The household must generally have lived in the area for more than one year and must not already benefit from another social assistance programme, except where it receives support under the Older Persons Cash Transfer programme.

The Sh2,000 transfer provides regular income support to families facing economic hardship. Inua Jamii payments were shifted from a bimonthly to a monthly cycle in July 2023 as part of efforts to make assistance more regular and predictable.