For over 50 years, Save the Children has worked alongside Kenyan communities to protect children's rights and transform their futures. We work with the poorest people in Kenya, including nomadic communities living on a knife-edge, refugees from war-torn Somalia, and vulnerable children with uncertain futures.
From emergency healthcare in drought-affected regions to quality education programmes, we're creating lasting change for Kenya's most vulnerable children.
The Situation in Kenya
One of Africa’s most developed countries, Kenya is also one of the most unequal - and more than half the population are children.
Kenya faces mounting challenges that threaten children's wellbeing. Climate shocks – including relentless droughts, devastating floods and locust invasions – have left communities struggling to feed their families.
The places where we work present huge challenges, from severe drought conditions, a 500,000-strong refugee population and continuing issues of neonatal mortality, poor access to education and sexual violence.
Save the Children has been providing support to children in Kenya through our development and humanitarian programmes since 1950.
We work with communities, local partners, and the government to design and deliver programmes to meet the needs of the most deprived children. We work towards improving healthcare, sustainable livelihoods, child protection, education and disaster relief.
Jonathan's Story: Life-Saving Care in Turkana
Three-year-old Jonathan's* recovery shows what's possible when vulnerable children receive timely, expert care.
When Aree* and her husband John* brought Jonathan to a Save the Children outreach clinic in Turkana in August 2025, their son was desperately ill. He'd been sick for over a month, losing weight despite eating. Previous hospital visits hadn't helped.
"He eats but just gets thinner, that's why he looks so skinny," Aree explained.
Our Emergency Health Unit team diagnosed Jonathan with malaria, severe acute malnutrition and anaemia. But his symptoms – persistent fever, stomach pain and extreme paleness – suggested something more serious: kala-azar, a tropical disease that can be fatal if left untreated.
Jonathan's condition was critical. Our team immediately transferred him, along with Aree and his younger brother Given*, to Lokituang Hospital for testing. When Jonathan's condition deteriorated overnight, requiring blood transfusions and intensive care, Save the Children arranged his transfer to Lodwar Hospital.
Jonathan (3) eats therapeutic peanut paste at a mobile clinic
There, doctors confirmed kala-azar and began treatment alongside nutritional support. The transformation was remarkable.
"I was so happy when I saw Jonathan at the hospital," says Alice Oyuko-Awuor, our Clinical Manager. "He looked much better than when we referred him three days earlier. He was stable, and his mother was very happy."
By January 2026, Jonathan had fully recovered and returned home with his family.
"Had we not transferred Jonathan from the outreach clinic, he could have perhaps lost his life," Alice reflects. "Kala-azar kills."
Jonathan's case highlights the desperate need in Turkana. Our Emergency Health Unit's mass screening from July-August 2025 revealed that of 2,780 children tested, 990 – or 36% – had either severe acute malnutrition or moderate acute malnutrition, far exceeding the normal Global Acute Malnutrition rate of 15%.
Meet Diana and her baby Blessings
Photo credit: Fredrik Lerneryd / Save the Children
Diana went into early labour when she was pregnant with her first child, Blessings.
“I was told that chances of survival were low.”
She was transferred from her local health center in Bungoma, Kenya, to a hospital with a specialist ward for premature births.
“They encouraged me, and they gave me hope."
Blessings weighed just 1kg when she was born. The pair have been staying in the Save the Children and GSK supported hospital for five weeks.
During this time, Diana practiced Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) with baby Blessings.
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a skin-to-skin connection between mother and baby, where the baby is held to the mother's chest using a sling for many hours.
It is a high-impact, low-tech, cost-effective intervention for saving preterm babies, which families can easily practice even at the community level.
We show mothers how to wrap, warm and feed their premature babies so they survive and thrive.
Rosemary, a midwife at the hospital, has been trained to support mothers with KMC. Rosemary explains:
“A baby who is under incubator care, power can go off and this baby will become hypothermic. But a baby who is on mother's chest there is constant warmth. There is also bonding - a mother learns early enough to bond with the child.”
Being born early should not condemn babies to a premature death. Every day, our doctors, nurses and health teams are saving lives in hard-to-reach communities around the world.
All children deserve the same chance to survive and thrive. We work to make sure all children get the care they need for the best possible start in life.
How Save the Children is Helping
Since 2014, we've worked in close partnership with Turkana County Government, delivering health, nutrition, education, child protection and water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Our Emergency Health Unit deployed to Turkana in 2025, establishing 25 health and nutrition outreach sites in the most at-risk areas. These clinics provide screening and treatment for malnutrition, antenatal and postnatal care, vaccinations and treatment for illnesses including malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia and skin and eye infections. Teams also refer and transport urgent cases to health facilities for specialist treatment.
Across Kenya, we're:
Providing emergency healthcare: Our Emergency Health Unit delivers life-saving medical treatment through mobile and fixed clinics, runs mass vaccination campaigns and responds to disease outbreaks in some of the toughest, hardest-to-reach places.
Building resilience: Through livelihood support and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, we help communities withstand future climate shocks and economic challenges.
Save the Children staff unpack a vehicle and set up an outreach clinic in Turkana, Kenya
*Names changed to protect identities
Page last updated February 2026
