COUNTY, AFIDEP HOLD MULTI-SECTORAL GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING WORKSHOP

The County Government of Kakamega, in partnership with the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), has held a multi-sectoral Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) workshop aimed at strengthening the integration of gender considerations into the County’s planning and budgeting processes.
All County Executive Committee Members (CECMs), under the leadership of the CECM for Social Services, Gender, Children Services, Sports and Culture, CPA Jackline Masicha, committed to mainstreaming gender-responsive budgeting across all County departments to promote equitable service delivery and improve the welfare of residents across Kakamega County.
The workshop focused on incorporating gender-responsive approaches throughout the budget cycle, from formulation and approval to implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Participants were also taken through gender analysis, identification of gender priorities and the preparation of Gender Budget Statements (GBS), which link identified gender gaps to activities, outputs, performance indicators and financial allocations.
The training further emphasized the importance of identifying gender-responsive entry points within the budget cycle, early integration of gender priorities, sustained coordination and timely stakeholder engagement. Participants were introduced to a five-step gender analysis process covering the identification of gender inequalities, policy assessment, resource allocation, expenditure monitoring, and evaluation of outcomes and impact.
The workshop also underscored the need for stronger collaboration among departments and stakeholders to ensure that gender considerations are systematically incorporated into County policies, programmes and resource allocation. This will contribute to more inclusive planning and budgeting and ensure that the needs of women, men, girls and boys, as well as other vulnerable groups, are adequately addressed.
Present during the workshop were respective County Directors and Planning Officers; who were expected to strengthen gender-responsive planning and budgeting within their respective departments.