Nairobi,KENYA:The government has launched the digital monitoring of the social welfare of over 20 million children in the country in a bid to ensure their safety.
Cabinet Secretary CS Labour and Social Protection Phyllis Kandie on Tuesday in a statement said that children are vulnerable and it is critical that their needs are addressed holistically.
“Section 53 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 distinctly stipulates the rights of children including the right to be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices, all forms of violence, inhuman treatment and punishment, and hazardous or exploitative labour,” the CS said in a statement read by PS Susan Mochache at the KICC.
Ms. Kandie added that the protection of children was in line with the National Plan of Action for Children 2015-2022, that outlines priorities and interventions necessary for the progressive realization of children’s rights is already in operation.
On Tuesday during the launch of the Child Protection Information System CIPMS at the KICC, Ms. Mochache said the digital platform will help in monitoring child protection data.
“ The CIPMS is a web based data system developed by the Department of Children Services to collect, aggregate and report on child protection data.” Said Ms. Mochache
On the other hand, CS Kandie noted that the National Situation Analysis on the state of the Kenyan child 2014 report, showed that despite the gains made in government’s effort to ending violence against children, 40 percent of Kenyan children had been abused.
“Collection of information regarding this status was inefficient using the paper based information system, resulting in gaps in case referral, weakness in case management and overall delays in case interventions,” she noted.
CS Kandie remarked that objectives of CPIMS included providing comprehensive and quality national child protection data and enriching case management of child protection cases.
“We plan to strengthen coordination and monitoring which will aid in decision making in child protection,” she continued.
CPIMS was rolled out in July 2016 in 11 counties namely Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Muranga, Homabay, Kilifi, Machakos, Migori, Kakamega and Siaya all supported by USAID and Kwale supported by Plan International.
Between July 2016 and March 2017, a total 20,968 children involving 21,492 cases have been recorded in CPIMS. This is an average monthly caseload of 2,500 cases.
The top three cases reported are neglect 54 per cent, custody 17 per cent and abandoned children 5 per cent.
Almost half of all children supported were aged below 5 years making them the most vulnerable group.
Kenya has a population of about 41 million people out of which 54 per cent are children.
Out of every 2 Kenyans, one is a child below 18 years of age.
