Government Unveils Major Policy and Funding Measures to Empower Minorities and Marginalised Communities
Officials said the new approach seeks to entrench equity, dignity, and equal opportunity as core national values.
This landmark policy will provide a clear legal and institutional framework for inclusion, protection, and equitable development. Photo/Courtesy
By Ruth Sang
The government has announced a wide-ranging package of policy and funding interventions aimed at strengthening the inclusion, protection, and socio-economic empowerment of ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples, and marginalised communities across the country. The measures were unveiled during the commemoration of the United Nations International Day for Minorities at State House, Nairobi, marking a new commitment to ensuring that no Kenyan is left behind.
In an address to more than 5,000 leaders and members drawn from minority, indigenous, and marginalised communities, the government affirmed that henceforth, the place of minorities in the nation will no longer be left to individual goodwill or shifting political priorities but will be firmly anchored in law. Officials said the new approach seeks to entrench equity, dignity, and equal opportunity as core national values.
The imminent release of the National Policy on Ethnic Minorities, Indigenous Peoples, and Marginalised Communities, already approved by Cabinet, lies at the heart of these reforms. When rolled out, the policy will outline a specific legal and institutional framework to guide inclusion, protection, and development on an equitable basis. According to the government, the policy would help correct historical injustices, make way for fair representations, and ensure that marginalised groups are meaningfully heard in national development processes.
Among the immediate interventions, it announced the establishment of a KSh500 million National Minority Scholarship Programme. The initiative seeks to support access to quality secondary and tertiary education among children hailing from indigent minority and marginalised communities. According to the officials, the Scholarship Programme is meant to break the vicious cycles of poverty by widening access to education for learners who have faced systemic barriers in accessing it.
Moreover, the Ministry of Education is to apportion a sum of KSh200 million annually to an Education Infrastructure Fund, which shall be directed towards minority and marginalised regions. This fund will serve in the construction of new schools, improvement of the existing infrastructure, and provision of learning institutions with modern facilities, especially in underprivileged areas where school infrastructure has been lagging.
Health access also forms one of the cardinal pillars of the new measures. It announced that it would pay Social Health Authority contributions for 200,000 vulnerable individuals drawn from minority and marginalized communities. This move is expected to improve access to essential health care services and reduce the financial burden on families that have struggled to afford medical cover.
In this regard, officials described the initiatives as part of a long-term approach toward social justice and shared national prosperity. They pointed out that while the announced measures are crucial, they are only part of the continuous reforms in the process of uplifting historically excluded communities.
The gathering at State House was an opportunity to look back on how much had been achieved so far and to reaffirm the collective commitment to inclusion. Leaders and representatives especially welcomed the announcements with hope that the policies and funding allocations would lead to actual change on the ground. The government re-iterated that equity and inclusion are at the core of the government’s development agenda and committed itself to continuing cooperation with minority and marginalized communities to build a more just, cohesive, and prosperous nation for all.
About Author
