New York, 20 September 2026 – Kenya has taken a step towards creating a more structured way for Kenyans abroad to invest, share expertise and contribute to development at home, with the unveiling of the Kenya Diaspora Impact Platform (KDIP) during President William Ruto’s engagement with the Kenyan diaspora in New York.At the event, held ahead of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Government of Kenya, the United Nations in Kenya and Equity Group Holdings signed a Joint Declaration of Intent to collaborate on developing the platform. Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi signed for the Government, UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya Garry Conille for the United Nations, and Equity Group Managing Director and CEO James Mwangi for Equity Group Holdings.More than money sent homeKenya’s diaspora is already a major economic contributor. Formal remittance inflows reached approximately US$5.04 billion in 2025, according to the Central Bank of Kenya, and US$451.8 million in August 2026 alone.But remittances are only part of the story. Kenyans abroad also bring professional expertise, business experience, technology, investment capital and networks that link Kenya to markets and institutions around the world. In New York, President Ruto argued that the next step is to create credible pathways through which these assets can connect more systematically with opportunities at home.“We are building a stronger bridge between Kenyans abroad and opportunities at home, founded on trust, transparency and measurable results,” President Ruto said. Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), also attended the engagement. Following her meeting with President Ruto, she pointed to Kenya’s work across labour mobility, skills development, countering human trafficking and diaspora engagement, and reaffirmed IOM’s partnership with the country.“Kenya is showing leadership across Africa on migration, from labor mobility and skills development to combating human trafficking and engaging diaspora. Looking forward to our strong partnership to create opportunity,” Pope said. UN Resident Coordinator Garry Conille emphasised the value of diaspora knowledge, experience and expertise alongside financial contributions.“Kenya’s diaspora is already a major development asset. The opportunity now is to connect its capital, skills, knowledge and networks to credible opportunities at home through a system people can trust. For the UN, this is about bringing public institutions, the private sector and development partners together around measurable development results” said Garry Conille One platform, built around trustLed by Kenya’s State Department for Diaspora Affairs, which sits within the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, KDIP is being developed as a digital gateway that connects Kenyans abroad with credible and verifiable investment and development opportunities. The prototype brings different forms of diaspora participation together in one place: supporting community priorities, investing in the country, financing enterprises, contributing professional skills and navigating the steps to establish a business at home. Users will be linked to the appropriate official systems and institutions wherever transactions or statutory processes take place.Trust is central to whether the model can work, and President Ruto stressed the need for reliable information, transparency and measurable results. As KDIP moves from prototype to pilot, its value will depend on whether Kenyans abroad can engage with confidence – that information is credible, processes are clear, and contributions, whether financial, professional or entrepreneurial, can be linked to visible results. The next phase will require the systems, institutional responsibilities and safeguards needed to make that possible. From diaspora engagement to development impactThe Joint Declaration of Intent brings Government, the UN and the private sector together around a shared ambition: to move diaspora engagement from connection and participation towards structured development impact.For the United Nations in Kenya, the partnership also speaks to the broader challenge of financing and delivering development. Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals requires more than traditional development assistance. It requires better ways to connect public institutions, private capital, communities and the knowledge, skills and networks of Kenyans living abroad.Kenya’s diaspora is already contributing at scale. The test now is whether that contribution can be channelled through trusted pathways that deliver visible, measurable results for communities, institutions and enterprises at home.

NAIROBI, 16 September 2026 — The Government of Kenya, the United Nations and development partners met for the 15th Development Partnership Forum, with opportunities for young people at the centre of discussions on the country’s development priorities.Chaired by Deputy President Prof. Kithure Kindiki and co-chaired by UN Resident Coordinator Dr Garry Conille and Germany’s Ambassador Sebastian Groth, the Forum brought together senior Government officials, development partners and representatives of other sectors to examine how cooperation can translate more directly into opportunities and results for Kenyans.Youth employment provided the central thread. But the discussion went beyond jobs alone. Participants examined the economic conditions that shape opportunity, how effectively development resources are reaching programmes and communities, the changing nature of international development financing and preparedness for expected heavy rains.For Deputy President Kindiki, the starting point was to recognise young people not simply as recipients of development programmes but as participants in the country’s economic transformation.“Our young people are not merely beneficiaries of development programmes; they are central actors in the transformation of our economy and society,” he said. UN Resident Coordinator Dr Garry Conille connected that ambition to a wider question facing Government and its partners: whether improvements at the macroeconomic and policy level are translating into changes that people can see in their lives.“Progress that families can experience is what strengthens confidence in the wider reform effort,” he said.Moving young people from learning to earningMuch of the youth discussion focused on what happens beyond training: whether young people can move into employment, build viable businesses, access finance or gain the practical experience needed to earn a sustainable living.Government and partners highlighted the need for stronger connections between training and labour-market demand, closer engagement with employers, improved workplace learning and greater support for youth-led enterprises.The Deputy President called for youth employment to become a measurable priority across Government, including through targets in performance contracts and sector plans. He also called for development partners and the private sector to help co-design and finance youth programmes, expand market access and strengthen mentorship for youth-led businesses.Fikirini Jacobs Katoi Kahindi, Principal Secretary for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, presented the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement, NYOTA, programme as one example of this approach. He reported that 124,000 young people had enrolled in its business-support component, exceeding an initial target of 100,000.The discussion also underscored the need to reach young people who face greater barriers to opportunity. The UN called for particular attention to young women, persons with disabilities and young people in underserved counties.Prof. Kindiki announced a dedicated follow-up meeting with the Principal Secretaries responsible for youth and small enterprises, supported by their Cabinet Secretaries, to work through practical next steps.The youth agenda was also linked to wider economic conditions. The Deputy President pointed to improvements in the currency, inflation and borrowing conditions, while acknowledging that reductions in benchmark interest rates had not yet translated sufficiently into lower commercial lending rates. Access to affordable finance remains a major consideration for young entrepreneurs and small businesses seeking to start, expand and employ others. Making development financing work betterThe Forum also turned to a more fundamental delivery question: what happens when development resources have been committed but programmes are delayed or funds are not fully used.Participants examined the gap between development assistance committed to Kenya and the resources ultimately disbursed and absorbed. JICA highlighted cases where insufficient Government budget allocations and delayed releases can slow payments and interrupt implementation even when development partners have committed financing.A review of Kenya’s use of Official Development Assistance had identified measures on which Government and partners already agreed, alongside issues requiring further discussion.Prof. Kindiki directed that agreed measures should not wait for the wider review to conclude.Areas where agreement already exists, he said, should be “picked out and pushed forward for implementation with immediate effect”.He committed to establishing a small, high-level Government team to identify measures that can move immediately. Conille said development partners would use the relevant technical mechanisms to consolidate their feedback and return to Government on the outstanding recommendations.The Deputy President also gave the National Treasury 30 days to finalise the external resource mobilisation policy for submission to Cabinet and subsequently Parliament.The discussion placed renewed attention on Joint Sector Working Groups, which bring Government and development partners together around sector priorities and implementation challenges. Susan A. Mangeni, Principal Secretary for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, reported that 17 of 22 groups had met during the last financial year, compared with seven previously.Partners proposed examining groups that remain inactive, including whether their mandates remain relevant, where coordination could be simplified and, most importantly, whether the groups are resolving the problems they were established to address. Adapting development partnershipsThe Forum took place against a changing international financing environment, with development partners facing increasing pressure on aid budgets.Germany’s Ambassador Sebastian Groth called for partnerships to adapt by combining development cooperation with stronger domestic resource mobilisation, private investment and trade. He also stressed the need to manage the transition carefully so that existing development gains and ongoing investments are not disrupted.Conille similarly emphasised the value of early dialogue when financing priorities change, allowing national and county institutions more time to plan and adjust.The discussion also extended to cooperation around Kenya’s electoral cycle, where Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Dr Musalia Mudavadi stressed the importance of predictable engagement grounded in Kenya’s constitutional and legal framework.“We want to abide by the rule of law,” Mudavadi said, calling for a shared understanding of the rules and procedures governing partner support.He reaffirmed that Kenya intends to maintain its constitutional electoral timetable, while Government encouraged development partners wishing to support the electoral process to work through established institutions and mechanisms. Preparing before the rainsThe Forum also considered preparations for the expected heavy rains, shifting attention from response after a crisis to action before communities are affected.The Deputy President said Government had activated a multi-agency preparedness framework and would convene humanitarian and development partners for more detailed discussions on priority interventions and available support.The UN offered support for coordinated preparedness and anticipatory action aimed at reducing risks to lives, livelihoods and essential services.The discussion reflected a broader message running through the Forum: development cooperation is ultimately measured not by commitments made in meeting rooms but by whether institutions can turn them into practical results.The immediate follow-up now spans several fronts: expanding pathways into jobs and enterprise for young people, addressing bottlenecks affecting development financing, strengthening coordination mechanisms and preparing communities before the rains arrive.

NAIROBI, 10 September 2026. Protecting critical infrastructure increasingly means protecting more than a physical facility. It means safeguarding the services, digital systems, people and networks that allow societies and economies to function.That was a central message from the Fifth Nairobi Caucus on Protecting Critical Infrastructure Systems and Public Spaces from Terrorism, held in Nairobi from 7 to 8 September 2026.Convened by Kenya’s National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) through its Nairobi Programme Office, the meeting brought together 200 participants from 24 Member States, alongside representatives of 11 regional organisations, United Nations entities, international partners and other stakeholders.Over two days, policymakers, practitioners and experts examined how terrorist threats to infrastructure and public spaces were changing, and what governments, operators and partners needed to do differently to anticipate threats, reduce vulnerabilities and keep essential services functioning when incidents occurred.For Kenya, the discussion came as continued investment in transport, energy, digital systems and other infrastructure was expanding both the country’s economic opportunities and the systems requiring protection.Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi said the focus of the meeting was particularly relevant to Kenya’s infrastructure development.“Our dams, railways, digital assets, energy infrastructure, health systems and stadia are critical infrastructure that should be protected from terrorists’ attacks,” Mudavadi said. From protecting sites to protecting systemsA recurring theme across the Caucus was the need to move beyond security built mainly around individual sites.Modern infrastructure is increasingly interconnected. Physical facilities depend on communications networks, digital systems, personnel, supply chains and other services. Disruption to one part of that network can therefore affect many others, with consequences for public services, livelihoods, economic activity and public safety.Participants examined how protection could be strengthened through risk and vulnerability assessments, security by design, preparedness, inter-agency coordination, business continuity, emergency response, crisis communication and post-incident recovery.The emphasis was not only on responding more effectively when an attack occurred. It was also on identifying vulnerabilities earlier, preparing institutions and infrastructure operators beforehand and ensuring that essential services could continue or recover quickly after disruption.Mudavadi called for a stronger shift from reactive security towards what he described as proactive and resilient protective security.He proposed five connected areas for action: anticipation, readiness, mitigation, response and recovery. These ranged from improving national and regional capacity to identify terrorist risks to strengthening preparedness, reducing known vulnerabilities, coordinating responses and putting systems in place to restore stability following an incident.“Investments in protective security must never be seen as mere operational costs, but as strategic investments in national stability, security and sustainable development,” Mudavadi said.The approach linked infrastructure security directly to development. Electricity networks, transport systems, health facilities, ports, water systems and digital services are not only physical assets. They enable public services, commerce and everyday life. Their resilience therefore has direct consequences for development and the ability of institutions to continue serving communities. The digital dimensionThe discussions also reflected how digitisation was changing the meaning of critical infrastructure.As essential services became increasingly dependent on digital platforms, data networks and automated systems, participants considered threats that might disrupt infrastructure without directly attacking a physical facility.Mudavadi noted that a cyberattack could interfere with electricity grids, water systems, transport networks, financial services and other essential infrastructure.“We therefore need to protect not only the physical asset, but also the data, networks, software and human systems upon which that asset depends,” he said.This placed cybersecurity and physical security within the same resilience discussion. It also strengthened the case for incorporating risk and security considerations at the design and planning stages of infrastructure projects rather than treating protection as something added later.The regional implications were equally significant.Kenya’s ports, airports, transport corridors, communications infrastructure and other systems support economic activity beyond its borders. Mudavadi pointed to the Port of Mombasa as one example of infrastructure whose security mattered not only to Kenya, but also to countries that depend on it for trade and access to global markets.Protecting interconnected infrastructure therefore required stronger cooperation across borders, alongside coordination within countries.Protecting public spaces while keeping them openThe Caucus also examined a different security challenge: protecting public spaces that, by their nature, needed to remain accessible.Transport hubs, markets, places of worship, sporting facilities, entertainment venues and other publicly accessible spaces bring large numbers of people together. Unlike highly controlled facilities, their social and economic purpose depends partly on remaining open.This required approaches that balanced accessibility with risk awareness, preparedness and the capacity to respond quickly when threats emerged.It also reinforced the importance of involving a broader range of actors. Local authorities, security agencies, infrastructure operators, businesses and communities all hold different pieces of the information, capacity and responsibility required to keep public spaces safe. Security as a shared responsibilityThe need for stronger cooperation between government and the private sector featured prominently throughout the two-day meeting.Many critical services are owned, managed or delivered by private operators. Participants therefore discussed practical arrangements for information-sharing, early warning, risk management, business continuity and coordinated responses before an emergency occurred.For Steven Sequeira, Deputy Director of UNOCT, this wider understanding of protection was central to the discussions.“Protecting critical infrastructure and public spaces means protecting the systems, services and places that societies depend on every day. It requires risk-informed preparedness, strong public-private partnerships and the capacity to prevent, mitigate, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks.”The Caucus also placed particular emphasis on practical experience and peer learning. National case studies, plenary discussions, expert contributions and breakout sessions allowed participants to compare approaches, examine common vulnerabilities and consider how international practices could be adapted to different national and regional contexts.Kibiego Kigen, Director General of NCTC Kenya, said stronger regional cooperation needed to be grounded in solutions that reflected African realities.“Our success rests on solidarity and a shared resolve to innovate contextualised, African-led solutions that eradicate the threats of terrorism from our region and across our continent,” Kigen said. Building regional cooperationThe Fifth Nairobi Caucus built on four previous editions held since the initiative was established in 2022.The annual consultative framework brings together Member States, regional organisations and international partners to examine terrorism and violent extremism challenges affecting East Africa, exchange experience and identify areas where cooperation can be strengthened.The 2026 meeting placed critical infrastructure and public spaces within that wider regional conversation, but also sharpened an underlying development question: how can countries protect increasingly interconnected systems while ensuring that the services built around them continue to reach people?The discussions pointed towards a broader understanding of resilience. Protecting infrastructure was not only about preventing physical damage. It also meant anticipating risks, strengthening institutions and partnerships, protecting digital and human systems and ensuring that essential services could withstand disruption and recover when crises occurred.For economies and communities increasingly dependent on interconnected infrastructure, that capacity to continue functioning had become part of the security challenge itself.

The next phase of Kenya’s refugee response will be shaped not only by policy, but by whether the institutions and economies of refugee-hosting areas are strong enough to support a more inclusive model.That was one of the central questions to emerge from a joint United Nations mission to Kakuma and Kalobeyei from 2 to 4 September 2026, which brought together Heads of Agencies and senior programme leads from 14 UN entities alongside national and county government representatives.The mission came as the Government of Kenya advances the Shirika Plan, its framework for moving beyond long-term encampment towards greater social and economic inclusion of refugees within national and county systems.In Turkana, where more than 320,000 refugees and asylum-seekers live alongside host communities, that transition has immediate implications for public services, local institutions and the wider economy.The delegation, led by Dr Garry Conille, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya, Ms Fatima Mohammed Cole, UNHCR Representative in Kenya and Ms Mercy Mwasaru, Acting Commissioner for Refugee Affairs, met Government and county leaders, UN teams, communities and partners across Kakuma and Kalobeyei. National and county representatives included Dr John Erus, Deputy Governor of Turkana County, Mr Julius Kavita, Turkana County Commissioner The visit focused on the conditions needed to support a more integrated approach, including stronger services, greater economic opportunity and better coordination around the needs of both refugees and host communities. A transition that depends on stronger systemsThe Shirika Plan represents an important change in direction.For decades, many services for refugees have been provided through humanitarian systems operating alongside national and county structures. Shirika seeks to progressively expand refugees’ access to public services and economic opportunities while preserving protection and humanitarian assistance for those who continue to need it.In practice, that means looking closely at the capacity of the systems expected to carry a greater share of the responsibility.During the mission, the delegation reviewed challenges and opportunities across health, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, energy and social protection. It also considered the role of agriculture, livestock and other livelihoods in expanding economic participation.The discussions pointed to a clear challenge. Greater inclusion will place new demands on institutions that are already managing existing development pressures.Health facilities require staff, medicines and financing. Schools require teachers, classrooms and learning materials. Water systems need infrastructure and maintenance. County institutions need the capacity to plan and deliver services to a larger and more diverse population.The transition envisioned under Shirika will therefore depend not only on opening access to services, but also on investing in the systems that provide them.“The joint mission brought forth to all of us the importance of moving together as one, because we cannot separate the people. They are members and residents of the same ecosystem,” said Ms Mercy Mwasaru, Acting Commissioner for Refugee Affairs.The joint mission brought forth to all of us the importance of moving together as one, because we cannot separate the people. They are members and residents of the same ecosystem“If we consolidate the resources we have and put them to prudent use and proper application, it is going to be life-changing for both refugees and host communities going forward.” Building on what already existsTurkana is not starting from a blank page.The Kalobeyei Integrated Socio-Economic Development Plan, or KISEDP, has already provided a framework for national and county governments, the UN, development partners, communities and other actors to work around shared services and local economic development.That experience offers lessons for the next phase.It has shown the value of planning around a shared geography rather than treating refugee and host populations as entirely separate constituencies. It has also shown that investments in services, infrastructure and livelihoods can support both communities when they are designed around local systems and county priorities.But the scale of Shirika is broader.The challenge now is how to take those lessons further while addressing the financing, institutional capacity and coordination required for a more sustained transition.For Turkana County, that means connecting refugee inclusion to the county’s wider development priorities.“For Turkana County, refugee inclusion must translate into stronger public services, infrastructure and economic opportunities that benefit both refugees and host communities,” said Dr John Erus, Deputy Governor of Turkana County.“Through the Shirika Plan, KISEDP and its ASPIRE Roadmap, we have an opportunity to build on what has been achieved, strengthen county systems and attract investment that creates jobs, expands livelihoods and supports the development of the entire county.”This connection is critical.Turkana continues to face significant development gaps, including pressure on services, limited infrastructure, climate vulnerability and constrained economic opportunities. Any transition towards greater refugee inclusion will be more sustainable if it contributes to the county’s wider development rather than creating a separate set of interventions around refugee-hosting areas.A more coherent UN responseThe mission also highlighted the implications of Shirika for the UN Country Team.The issues involved cut across multiple sectors and mandates: protection, health, education, water, social protection, livelihoods, financing, governance and local economic development.No single agency holds all the expertise needed to address them.“No single agency can deliver the Shirika Plan alone. Our responsibility as the UN Country Team is to listen to the Government, counties and communities and bring our different mandates and expertise together behind one shared approach,” said Dr Garry Conille, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya.No single agency can deliver the Shirika Plan alone. Our responsibility as the UN Country Team is to listen to the Government, counties and communities and bring our different mandates and expertise together behind one shared approach.“What we have seen and heard in Kakuma and Kalobeyei will help us shape practical, coordinated support that strengthens national and local systems while responding to the continuing needs of refugees and host communities.”The mission therefore served not only as a review of conditions on the ground, but also as a test of how the UN itself needs to work differently.Rather than approaching Shirika through separate agency programmes, the aim is to build a more coherent offer around Government and county priorities, combining humanitarian, development, financing and institutional expertise.That approach will require greater clarity on where agencies lead, where they complement one another and how support can be organised around shared outcomes rather than individual mandates. Beyond coordinationThe scale of the transition will also require support beyond the UN system.Government leadership and county ownership will remain central, but sustained donor engagement, development financing, private sector investment and community participation will also be needed.Refugees and refugee-led organisations will need to be part of shaping the systems and opportunities that affect them. Host communities will need to see tangible benefits from the transition, particularly in services, infrastructure and livelihoods.This is where the success of the Shirika Plan will ultimately be tested.Not simply in whether more refugees are formally included in national and county systems, but in whether those systems become stronger, better financed and more capable of serving everyone.Not simply in whether humanitarian structures are reduced, but in whether the institutions taking on greater responsibility are ready to do so.And not simply in whether refugees gain access to opportunity, but in whether that opportunity expands for host communities as well.The lessons from Kakuma and Kalobeyei will help shape UN support to the Government of Kenya and Turkana County and inform the Common Country Analysis and the next United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.For Turkana, the central challenge is now clearer: refugee inclusion will be sustainable only if it strengthens the place in which it happens.