Child neglect cases expose protection gaps

Cynthia Chepng’etich, 35, with her children in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Embakasi South, Nairobi County. [Nanjinia Wamuswa, Standard]

Princess dreams of becoming a doctor. However, her ambition is threatened by her family’s financial struggles, which continue to disrupt her education and that of her younger siblings.

She’s a grade six pupil at a primary school in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Embakasi South Sub-County in Nairobi County.

“My mother cannot afford even the little money the school asks us to pay. Most of the time, I am out of class. Whenever I return, I have to start all over again, copying notes from my classmates. It is also not easy to recover lessons I have missed,” she says.

Their mother, Cynthia Chepng’etich, 35, says the family relocated to Nairobi in 2017 after being evicted from the Mau Forest. She says her husband deserted them two years ago.

“We started facing extreme challenges when my husband deserted us two years ago, leaving me to fend for the children on my own,” she says.

A housewife who previously relied on her husband, Chepng’etich now struggles to provide for her family and depends on well-wishers. She has five months’ rent arrears, with the landlord threatening to evict the family.

The situation of Princess and her five siblings highlights the plight of vulnerable children whose rights to education, food, shelter and parental care remain unfulfilled despite existing legal protections.

Yet, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises every child’s right to education and calls on governments to make primary education free and compulsory, encourage access to secondary education and ensure children can develop their talents and abilities.

Statistics from the Ministry of Gender, Culture and Children Services, shows the Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS) recorded 231,025 child protection cases across reported categories during the 2025/2026 financial year.

Neglect accounted for 154,832 cases, representing 67 per cent of the total. These cases involve caregivers failing to provide essential needs, including food, shelter, clothing, education, healthcare, supervision and emotional support. Custody disputes followed, with 29,073 cases, accounting for 12.6 per cent of the total.

Others include abandoned children 6,348, physical abuse/violence 5,058, defilement 3,860, children out of school 3,840, orphaned children 2,878, parental child abduction 2,855, destitution 2,645, child truancy 2,667, child offender 2,247, missing children 1,671, registration 1,650, abduction 1,590, and Children on the Streets 1,500.

Principal Secretary for Children Services Carren Agengo says the 15 leading categories accounted for 227,213 cases, approximately 98.4 per cent of the reported caseload.

“These are not merely statistics. Behind every figure is a child whose circumstances require attention, protection and timely intervention,” Agengo said during the launch of the 2026 Child Rights and Protection Media Awards.

Children’s Rights Advocacy and Legal Aid Foundation (CRALAF) founder and executive director Phoebe Kithinji says the circumstances facing Chepng’etich’s family warrant urgent assessment by Children Services officers and other relevant providers.

She says the immediate priority must be to safeguard the continuity of the children's basic rights and protect their welfare.

“The relevant Children Services officers, working with the family and other appropriate service providers, should assess the children's needs and ensure that urgent protection concerns are addressed without delay,” Kithinji says.

Despite the scale of reported cases, concerns persist over whether government resources are sufficient to meet children’s protection needs.

In the 2026/2027 financial year, the government allocated approximately Sh12.91 billion to the State Department for Children Services, comprising Sh12.17 billion in recurrent expenditure and Sh740 million for development. However, the specific allocation for Child Protection and Response Services stands at only Sh24.83 million.

“This amount isn’t adequate, when considered against the 231,025 reported cases in the CPIMS statistics, the need for timely case assessment, emergency response, referral, psychosocial support, legal intervention and follow-up is substantial,” she says.

During a Senate plenary session in November 2025, Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture and Children Services Hanna Cheptumo acknowledged that inadequate funding had constrained the department’s ability to safeguard children.

The government had allocated approximately Sh12.36 billion to the department in the 2025/2026 financial year.

Cheptumo told senators that the ministry had sought an additional Sh10 billion to expand services, recruit more Children Officers, establish sub-county offices and strengthen case management through CPIMS.

As of June 2025, the department had 714 Children Officers serving approximately 18 million children across the country, translating to roughly 25,000 children per officer.

World Vision Kenya National Director, Gilbert Kamanga, emphasises that lasting change for children requires strong partnerships and shared responsibility.

“No single organisation can transform children’s lives alone,” he says during the Christian agency’s launch of its 2026–2030 National Strategy and WASH Business Plan.

The five-year strategy sets out plans to reach 13.3 million children across 33 counties through direct programming, strategic partnerships and evidence-based advocacy, with priority given to children living in extreme poverty, children with disabilities, and those affected by climate shocks, violence, and social exclusion.

Data from the agency indicates that, despite Kenya’s steady economic growth, 47percent of children still suffer from multidimensional poverty, with 1.1 million children remaining malnourished and 2.8 million children out of school.

It shows recurrent droughts and floods continue to displace 300,000 children each year, noting that addressing these interconnected challenges requires integrated solutions that link child protection, education, climate resilience, health, and WASH.

CRALAF calls for increased and better-targeted investment in frontline child protection.

Kithinji explains, “This should include resources for Children Services officers to conduct assessments and follow-up visits, emergency response and safe referrals, case management, psychosocial support, child-friendly services, community-level prevention and effective coordination between service providers.”

Despite the challenges, Agengo reveals the government is implementing a range of programmes that address different aspects of a child’s wellbeing, while strengthening the families and communities around them.

Through the Presidential Secondary School Bursary Programme, 9,583 students were supported to access and remain in secondary education during the 2025/2026 Financial Year, at Sh100 million. Through the Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, 425,348 households had been supported as at July 2026, with a total of Sh. 850,696,000 disbursed.

NICHE strengthens social protection by improving nutrition during a child’s critical first 1,000 days, while the National Positive Parenting Programme promotes nurturing, non-violent and supportive families.

The PS explains, “Together, these programmes reflect a broader approach to child protection, strengthening families, supporting communities and addressing risks before they harm children.”

[e-mail]