AFIDEP TRAINS NYERI COUNTY OFFICERS ON GENDER-RESPONSIVE BUDGETING

The African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), a policy research and development organisation that works to strengthen the use of evidence in policymaking and development, has trained officers from various departments of the County Government of Nyeri on Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB).

The two-day training, held on Thursday, 24th and Friday, 25th September 2026 at FK Resort, focused on strengthening the capacity of Gender Champions and relevant county officers to integrate gender considerations into public planning, programmes and resource allocation.

The training comes as Nyeri prepares its 2027/28–2029/30 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), with AFIDEP equipping participants with practical knowledge and skills to ensure gender considerations are incorporated into departmental plans, programmes, activities and budget allocations.

The sessions were facilitated by AFIDEP Research and Policy Analyst Bernard Njiiri, alongside Stanley M.T. Wambua, Head of the Gender Statistics Section within the Directorate of Population and Social Statistics at the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), and Peter Michiemo from the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action.

A key focus of the training was clarifying that Gender-Responsive Budgeting does not mean creating separate budgets for women or men. Rather, it involves ensuring that planning and budgeting processes take into account the different needs, priorities, opportunities and constraints of women, men, girls and boys, as well as other groups within the community.

Participants were taken through how gender considerations can be integrated across the budget cycle, from planning and resource allocation to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The training also focused on the role of Gender Champions as departmental focal persons who can support their respective departments in identifying gender gaps, developing appropriate interventions and ensuring gender-responsive priorities are reflected in departmental plans and programmes.

AFIDEP conducted the training in collaboration with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, and the Department of Gender, County Government of Nyeri.

The engagement forms part of efforts to strengthen institutional capacity for gender-responsive
planning and budgeting, particularly as county departments develop programmes and budgets under the MTEF framework.