Parliamentary Visit to Kenya

January 2023

In January, CGP hosted a cross-party delegation of Members of Parliament to visit Kenya in partnership with CAFOD. We were joined by Alexander Stafford MP (CON), Ian Byrne MP (LAB) and Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP (LAB).

The visit was centred on UK Aid projects offering life-saving humanitarian support to communities suffering from the devastating effects of drought in the Horn of Africa, which has experienced a sixth consecutive year of failed rains. According to WHO, it is estimated that more than 46 million people are acutely food insecure in the region (IPC 3+ crisis or worse). The situation continues to worsen at such a rapid rate that hunger is expected to kill one person every 28 seconds by July this year.

The delegation travelled to Marsabit County in the north of Kenya, where the drought has killed livestock and obliterated livelihoods in the region's longest drought in over 40 years. The delegation met with community members to understand the challenges they faced and saw UK Aid’s provision of essential support through the maintenance of a borehole and generator, previously funded by the DEC. In another community, the MPs saw additional boreholes funded by the FCDO and a programme to strengthen the resilience of communities through income diversification, community gardens and small scale agriculture.

The delegation also met with three prominent faith leaders to understand how CAFOD uses the church networks to ensure the most vulnerable and remote communities receive funding. The MPs also met with Richard Erlebach, Deputy Development Director at the UK High Commission in Kenya, to discuss the scale of the crisis and how the UK is providing vital support.