![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/bfd2b8bf-284f-420a-8152-3775262cf36e.png\")
Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture and Children Services Hanna Wendot. \/HANNA WENDOT\/X<\/p>\nCabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture and Children Services Hanna Wendot. \/HANNA WENDOT\/X<\/p>\n
The government has disbursed Sh877,608,000 to 438,804 households enrolled in the Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programme, offering a critical lifeline to families caring for some of the country\u2019s most at-risk children. \n<\/p>\n
\nThe funds were released through the State Department for Children Services under the Inua Jamii initiative, Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture and Children Services Hanna Wendot said.
\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThis payment covers November 2025, with each household receiving Sh2,000. Payments will begin on Friday, January 9, 2026, through the contracted payment service provider,\u201d Wendot said.
\n<\/p>\n
\nThe Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC) Programme is Kenya\u2019s flagship social protection intervention targeting households caring for orphans and vulnerable children. <\/p>\n
It was launched in 2004 to cushion families facing extreme poverty while ensuring children remain within supportive family and community environments. \n<\/p>\n
\nUnder the programme, eligible households receive a regular cash stipend to help meet basic needs. <\/p>\n
The support is designed to strengthen access to education, healthcare, nutrition and food security, while also reinforcing child protection at the household level. \n<\/p>\n
\nThe CT-OVC programme began as a modest pilot targeting 500 households in Kwale, Garissa and Nairobi. Over the years, it has steadily expanded, both in coverage and scale. <\/p>\n
Today, it supports nearly 440,000 vulnerable households across all counties and constituencies, reflecting its evolution into a nationwide safety net. \n<\/p>\n
\nThe value of the cash transfer has also grown from an initial Sh500 paid once every two months to the current Sh2,000 per month.<\/p>\n
The adjustment mirrors the government\u2019s stated commitment to strengthening social protection for vulnerable populations amid rising economic pressures. \n<\/p>\n
\nTo qualify for enrolment, households must meet strict eligibility criteria. Beneficiaries must come from extremely poor households with one or more orphans or vulnerable children as permanent members. <\/p>\n
Eligible households must also not be receiving support from other social assistance programmes. \n<\/p>\n
\nHouseholds headed by caregivers who are chronically ill or unable to perform their caregiving duties may also qualify for inclusion.<\/p>\n
The last enrolment of new households into the programme was conducted in October 2023. \n<\/p>\n
\nAlthough the programme is now fully funded by the government, it initially received support from development partners. <\/p>\n
Its establishment was largely driven by the impact of the HIV\/AIDS epidemic, which left thousands of children orphaned and exposed to severe deprivation. \n<\/p>\n
\nThe overarching objective of the CT-OVC programme is to promote the care and retention of orphans and vulnerable children within family settings while enhancing their long-term human capital development. <\/p>\n
Over time, the programme has been associated with reduced poverty levels, improved food security and better school attendance among beneficiary children, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone of Kenya\u2019s social protection framework.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture and Children Services Hanna Wendot. \/HANNA WENDOT\/X The government has disbursed Sh877,608,000 to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16161,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[10448,10452,10451,10450,80,10453,10449,100,101,10447],"class_list":{"0":"post-16160","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-cash-transfer-for-orphans","9":"tag-children-social-welfare-kenya","10":"tag-government-cash-transfer-programme","11":"tag-inua-jamii-programme","12":"tag-kenya","13":"tag-poverty-alleviation-initiatives","14":"tag-social-protection-in-kenya","15":"tag-star-news-kenya","16":"tag-the-star","17":"tag-vulnerable-children"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}