Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni address the press on August 21, 2026/COURTESY
Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni has said the government will deepen grassroots engagement with citizens to improve awareness, uptake and adoption of its programmes and services.
Muthoni said this while reflecting on the first year of the Jamii Imara Mashinani (JIM) Caucus, an initiative aimed at bringing government closer to citizens and creating platforms for direct engagement on public programmes.
Over the past year, JIM has conducted 22 engagements across 14 counties, bringing citizens together with senior Government officials to explain various programmes while allowing residents to raise concerns and provide feedback on service delivery.
Muthoni said the engagements had helped create a two-way communication model in which Government officials can explain policies and programmes while listening directly to the experiences and concerns of citizens.
“Through JIM, we seek to highlight key Government achievements while ensuring that citizens are informed about programmes and services that are intended to improve their lives,” Muthoni said.
She cited the registration of more than 32 million Kenyans with the Social Health Authority (SHA) as one of the key achievements being highlighted through the grassroots engagements.
The PS also pointed to the disbursement of more than Sh5.5 billion to support 122,000 young entrepreneurs, as well as the ongoing construction of more than 6,000 kilometres of roads across the country.
Muthoni said such programmes needed to be communicated effectively at the grassroots level so that citizens could understand how to access and benefit from them.
She said JIM's engagements were also providing the Government with valuable feedback on challenges encountered by citizens when accessing public services.
“The two-way engagement model enables us to explain Government programmes while listening to citizens’ concerns and feedback,” she said.
Muthoni said the initiative would now focus on expanding public awareness and encouraging more Kenyans to take up Government programmes and services.
She added that strengthening citizen feedback would remain a key priority as the Government seeks to improve service delivery.
The PS said grassroots engagement was critical in ensuring Government initiatives were not only developed at the national level but also understood and embraced by communities.
She said continued interaction with citizens would help identify gaps in implementation and enable Government agencies to respond more effectively to emerging concerns.
Muthoni was joined by Kenya National Highways Authority Chairperson Winnie Ngumi, JIM Convener Peter Mucendu and KICC chief executive officer Uncle Sam.
Also present were NEMA Chairperson Emilio Mugo, Kenya Biovax Chairperson Dr Charles Githinji and Kenya Water Institute Chairperson Patrick Musili Mbangula, among other officials.
The officials reaffirmed the importance of collaboration among Government agencies in taking information about public programmes closer to communities.
Muthoni said JIM would continue working across counties to strengthen citizen participation and ensure Government services reach intended beneficiaries.
She said the initiative would remain focused on building an informed citizenry and creating stronger links between Government institutions and the people they serve.
