Access to adequate social protection in Kenya remains difficult, but a local community movement built on the country's philanthropic tradition of harambee is growing.

Community networks have been key in identifying vulnerable households and ensuring that those who need help access it easily, while community volunteers and activists are going door-to-door to make food donations, and linking poor households with families and individuals who are in a position to provide financial support.

In a country whose social welfare system is under-resourced and heavily reliant on donor funding, this fund could be key to supplementing existing government-run social assistance programmes that support older people and other groups at the most risk from contracting COVID-19, or hardest hit by the consequences of its mitigation measures.

As Kenyatta and his government work to expand social assistance to communities most affected by COVID-19 measures, it is important these interventions work in harmony with the vital contributions made by family, social and community networks.

Community initiatives cannot replace formal social welfare systems, but they do present Kenya's government with a unique opportunity to leverage community knowledge and networks, strengthen social protection policies, and develop programmes steeped in local reality, which tap into the harambee spirit, and address the needs of the most affected.

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