Questions & Answers: Western Kenya Community Driven Development and Flood Mitigation Project

1. What is the objective of project?

The objective of the project is to empower local communities of men and women to engage in sustainable and wealth creating livelihood activities and reduce their vulnerability to flooding. Meaningful partnership with communities will be built upon understanding of the needs and priorities of the constituent groups, and conferring voice in the planning and implementation of project activities, so as to ensure ownership and sustainability.

The proposed project will also support the Government ’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Specifically, the project proposes to enhance impact in the following areas:

• increase incomes of members of poor communities in Western Kenya, thus reducing the number of people suffering from extreme poverty. (MDG goal no. 1);
• promote gender equality and empowerment of women through specific initiatives promoting women’s rights and economic empowerment (MDG goal no. 3);
• incorporate a community-based malaria intervention strategy (MDG goals nos. 2, 4, 5 and 6 ); and
• adopt an integrated approach to flood mitigation and ensure reduction in economic losses induced by flooding (MDG goal no. 7).

2. How does this project fit in the World Bank’s mission of reducing poverty?

The project will contribute to the promotion of equity in Kenya. The World Bank’s strategy in Kenya seeks not only to assist the Government in accelerating overall economic growth, but also to ensure that growth takes place in a way that is both environmentally sustainable and inclusive of the poor . The project will contribute to greater equity in Kenya by enhancing capacity, investment, and opportunity for and by targeted communities.

3. Will this project support Kenya’s Vision 2030 strategies?

The project is well in line with the second “pillar’’ singled out in the vision as: - “to build a just and cohesive society, with equitable social development and a clean secure environment.” The project supports the poor to invest and increase their incomes. It also provides resources that will reduce vulnerabilities caused by flooding, malaria and poverty in general. This will positively impact on the livelihood of poor communities and reduce inequalities.

4. Who are the principal beneficiaries and what are the specific expected outcomes?

The principal beneficiaries are communities of men, women and youth in the Western Kenya Region. Progress towards achieving the project development objective will be monitored through a set of indicators These include:

• number of men and women actively participating in decision making at community and district levels;
• percent of community and youth investment projects rated satisfactory or better by participating communities;
• percentage increase in real incomes of households in project intervention areas; and
• percentage reduction of financial cost induced by average annual flooding in the Budalangi flood plain (property damages, agricultural damages and resettlement costs).

5. Besides the Government and the World Bank, are there other partners in the project and what is their contribution?

Civil Society organizations will be involved in the implementation of the project through their participation, with the Government, in a District Steering Group. A pu blic-private sector partnership will be established with corporate bodies operating in Western Kenya Region.

Development partners involved in the project include the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA), German Technical Co-operation (GTZ), World Health Organization (WHO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Fund and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID). In the water sector, collaboration with SIDA, GTZ and other bilateral partners has been integral in preparation and will be intensified during implementation. For malaria control, the project will work closely with the Division of Malaria Control ( DOMC) and the district health management teams of the Ministry of Health, as well as with other malaria stakeholders such as WHO, Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, USAID, D fID ) and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs ) active in malaria intervention in the region.