Kenya faces a difficult development paradox. The need for investment in community resilience, essential services and economic opportunity remains substantial, yet international resources are becoming increasingly uncertain.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 39.8 per cent of Kenyans – 20.2 million people – lived below the national poverty line in 2022, while food poverty affected 31.7 per cent of the population (KNBS, 2024). These figures reflect challenges that extend beyond income, intersecting with water access, health, climate vulnerability and economic shocks.
At the same time, official development assistance fell by 23 per cent in 2025 – the largest annual contraction on record – with a further decline of 6.9 per cent projected for 2026 (OECD, 2026). This raises an urgent question: How do we build institutions capable of sustaining progress when external financing becomes less predictable?
Part of the answer lies in making locally led development a practical institutional priority.
The gap between commitment and reality
The Grand Bargain established an ambition to direct at least 25 per cent of humanitarian funding to local responders. Yet research by ODI found that less than 10 per cent reached local actors in 2024, with direct funding accounting for only 3.8 per cent (ODI, 2026).
Commitments have not consistently translated into corresponding shifts in resources. As OECD guidelines highlight, localization cannot be measured simply by national organizations implementing externally designed projects. The real test is who defines priorities, controls resources, and makes strategic decisions.
Local leadership requires institutional strength
When international funding contracts, grant-dependent organizations face difficult choices. Staffing, community relationships, and technical capacity become vulnerable.
Local leadership must be accompanied by strong governance, financial management, safeguarding, and demonstrable results. But these capabilities require flexible, long-term investment. An organization cannot maintain rigorous systems if financing excludes the costs of building institutional capacity.
Complexity across Kenya’s drylands reinforces this need. In 2024 – the country’s hottest year on record – extreme weather escalated food insecurity, leaving nearly 1.8 million people in ASAL regions in Crisis-level food insecurity by late 2025 (IPC, 2025). Effective responses require contextual understanding and sustained community engagement that local institutions are uniquely positioned to deliver.
Our transition: Opportunity and responsibility
At Nawiri Impact Africa, these questions are practical. Having operated under World Relief since 1991, we completed our localization transition on 1 October 2026 to become a Kenyan-governed, locally led institution.
Changing organizational identity is only the beginning. Focusing on Food Security, WASH, Health, and Protection, our vision is resilient families thriving through locally led solutions. Rooted in Christian faith, we partner with communities, government, and faith institutions to sustain progress for generations to come.
Kenya’s development future requires a deliberate redistribution of responsibility, resources, and decision-making authority. If Kenya’s development gains are to endure, we must invest not only in the programmes delivered today, but also in the Kenyan institutions that will sustain progress tomorrow.
