Kenya’s progress in extending life expectancy must be matched by social protection systems that help people age with health, independence and dignity, rather than waiting until vulnerability becomes a crisis, says Suqoon Founder Shakira Khawaja.
Making the case for a more preventive and person-centred approach to ageing, Khawaja emphasised the need to protect older persons’ health, preserve their independence and enable them to remain active contributors to society. She shared these perspectives during discussions on social protection for older persons at the Fourth Kenya Social Protection Conference in Nairobi.
“We worked hard for people to live longer. Now let us make sure our systems are ready for those longer lives, and that those lives are lived with function, contribution and dignity,” she said.
Her call comes as Kenya seeks to strengthen its social protection framework. During the conference, President William Ruto, in a speech read on his behalf by Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, committed to establishing and capitalising a Social Protection Fund, making benefit indexation predictable and expanding coverage to 2.5 million households.
The President also directed that a national school meals programme begin in all 47 counties in the first term of 2027.
The need is growing. The number of Kenyans aged 60 and above is projected to rise from about 2.9 million today to 6.4 million by 2045, according to specialists briefing the media ahead of Kenya’s inaugural International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) national celebration.
Khawaja argued that health and social protection cannot be separated in an elder’s life. A fall at home can lead to a fracture, a hospital stay, lost mobility and dependence, often forcing a son or daughter to stop working to provide care. Suqoon, working with partners including Safaricom and the Chandaria Foundation, modifies elders’ homes to prevent such falls.
“That grab rail is not just a renovation. It is health protection. It is caregiver protection. It is social protection,” she said.
Khawaja called on delegates to carry three commitments into the conference’s Call to Action, to be signed on 1 October: a clear pathway to close the protection gap between ages 60, when the Constitution recognises a Kenyan as an older person, and 70, when the Older Persons Cash Transfer begins; protection of elders’ income, property and assets from abuse, including the introduction of the Older Persons Bill, 2024 in Parliament, where it has not yet been tabled since public participation closed in 2024; and an assisted route that always remains open for elders who cannot use digital payments and services on their own.
She also urged a change in how Kenya talks about its elders, who raise grandchildren, farm, run businesses, keep chamas going and hold families together.
“An elder is not where the life cycle closes. She is where it turns. When we invest in an older person, the return does not stop with her. It moves through the family, the community and into the next generation,” she said.
In Nairobi’s Mathare and Embakasi, elders who take part in Suqoon’s community activities say connection matters as much as cash.
“We need more conversations between generations. Young people need to understand what older people go through and why they need to be cared for. There is a lot that younger people can learn from older people,” said 64-year-old Ann Wanjiru Mbuthia, Organising Secretary at Mathare Older Persons Network.
“Suqoon has given us a space where we can come together, talk and interact. Sometimes an older person can stay in the house for many days without going anywhere. Having this space gives us a reason to come out and feel part of the community,” added Peter Oyugi, 65 years, from Embakasi.
The Fourth Kenya Social Protection Conference runs from 29 September to 1 October under the theme
“Re-imagining Social Protection in an evolving socio-economic landscape and climate change: Strengthening Adaptive, Transformative and Sustainable Social Protection Systems for Inclusive Development in Kenya.”
