Promoting Pathways to Economic Inclusion and Social Protection for Refugees and Host Communities in Kenya

In Kenya, 105,161 registered refugees (plus an unknown number of unregistered refugees) live in urban areas. They face gaps in meeting their basic needs, accessing social protection options, and obtaining livelihood opportunities, as most aid is concentrated in Dadaab and Kakuma.

The dynamic environment in urban areas such as Nairobi, Mombasa, and Nakuru offers the opportunity to integrate livelihood interventions and social protection programs, supporting displaced communities’ economic independence while protecting them against risks such as illness, maternity, old age, unemployment, or disability.

PATHWAYS is a project implemented by the ILO and funded by the United States Bureau of Population, Refugee, and Migration (PRM). The project is aimed to improve refugee and host community access to decent livelihood opportunities and social protection. The project focuses on three urban counties of Kenya: Nairobi, Mombasa, and Nakuru. The main goal of the project is to improve refugee and host community access to decent livelihood opportunities and social protection, with the following objectives:

1. Policy frameworks are more inclusive of refugees and workers in the informal economy
2. Refugees and host communities have access to decent work and livelihood opportunities
3. Social protection options are available and accessible to refugees and host communities, including for workers in the informal economy.