Uasin Gishu to register vulnerable persons afresh for social protection programmes

GovernorJonathan Bii has directed the county social protection department to update records of all vulnerable people.

The new initiative is aimed at identifying, registering, and creating a central database for the vulnerable persons.

At the heart of this initiative is the development of programme dubbed “Tabasamu na Koti”  to aid the vulnerable populations.

Governor Bii is popularly known as “Koti moja”, hence the name of the initiative.

County social protection chief officer Marion Birgen said they are in the process of putting in a place a software programme that will help to develop a centralised database and monitoring system for identifying and registering vulnerable individuals eligible for social protection.

“The programme is designed to collect data on specific vulnerable groups, including orphans, poor older members of society, persons with disabilities, individuals living in extreme poverty, and those affected by economic or social shocks,” Birgen said.

She spoke during a meeting to kick off the software development process.

The software will help gather and store key information, including an individual’s residence and specific needs assessment.

“A critical feature will be the integration of medical assistance details into the system,” the chief officer said.

The programme will be rolled out in consultation with the Social Health Authority.

“In essence, Tabasamu na Koti is the cornerstone of a new, data-driven strategy to streamline aid delivery and ensure support reaches the most vulnerable members of the community effectively,” Birgen said.

She regretted that many vulnerable individuals had been left out of key government support programmes because their details had not been captured.

“Under the new programme we will ensure we reach all vulnerable persons so that we map out how they will be reached as we implement social support programmes”, she said