Govt Rolls Out ChildSAFE Project to Protect Children in Six Counties.
Principal Secretary for Children Services Carren Ageng’o speaking during the launch of the ChildSAFE Kenya Project in Nairobi.
The Government has launched the ChildSAFE Kenya Project, a new initiative aimed at ensuring every child grows up in a safe, nurturing and supportive environment.
Launched in Nairobi, the project is funded by the US State Department through its Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy and will be implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and its partners.
Speaking during the launch, Principal Secretary for Children Services Carren Ageng’o said the project aligns closely with the State Department’s mandate and its 2026/2027 financial year workplan.
Implementation will take place in Kisumu, Kakamega, Nairobi, Kajiado, Mombasa and Kilifi counties as well as at the national and community levels. The project aims to reach children, families, caregivers, community structures and social service workers with particular attention to vulnerable and at-risk children.
According to Ageng’o, the project will focus on three key priorities: strengthening child protection systems and referral pathways, promoting integrated early childhood development and nurturing care and preventing unnecessary family separation through family strengthening and family-based alternative care.
It will also address violence, neglect, abuse and exploitation as well as the unsafe separation of children from their families while expanding psychosocial support and referral services.
In order to improve reporting, referral and case management, the initiative will strengthen the Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS) and Child Helpline 116.
Ageng’o said she expects the project to improve data quality and enhance the use of information in planning and decision making stressing that the confidentiality and dignity of children must remain paramount under the Data Protection Act, 2019.
“Children’s well-being is inseparable from the well-being of their families and the strength of the family support systems,” she said.
The Government stressed that the project must be anchored in its structures and led by it to avoid duplication and parallel systems. It outlined five expectations, including clear coordination and accountability, stronger workforce capacity through the professionalization of social service workers and family strengthening through nurturing care and parenting support.
It also called for care reform to ensure the safe reintegration of children from residential care into families and for sustainability through local ownership and documented lessons from the six counties to inform national policy.
