What is the Challenge

Kisumu County has one of the highest disability prevalence rates in Kenya, with an estimated 46,012 persons with disabilities, including approximately 17,000 children. During humanitarian crises such as floods, disease outbreaks, and economic shocks, children with disabilities remain among the most excluded.

Several barriers contribute to this gap. There is limited access to real-time, disaggregated data, making it difficult to rapidly identify and support children with disabilities during emergencies. Assistive technologies are often unaffordable, leaving many children without essential mobility, vision, hearing, or communication support. Primary healthcare systems are frequently under-resourced and weakly coordinated, resulting in delayed assessments and limited referrals. The burden of caregiving, which falls predominantly on women, increases further during crises.

Together, these factors leave children with disabilities at heightened risk of exclusion from essential services and humanitarian assistance.

What Is Innovative About the Project

The No-one Is Kept Out (NIKO) project is innovative by addressing the needs of children with disabilities during emergencies – an issue that has so far received little attention. Its innovation lies in combining digital technology, youth-led delivery models, and innovative financing into one integrated approach.

For example, through a GIS-enabled Disability Inclusion Data and Support Tools (DIDST) that has been developed, families can self-register and be rapidly linked to services via integrated government systems, reducing the risk of exclusion.

A Live Lab boot camp model trains and deploys youth for rapid identification, registration, and referral of children with disabilities during crises. In parallel, innovative financing mechanisms, including micro-contributions and private sector partnerships, expand access to assistive technologies, helping overcome fiscal constraints within public systems.

What are the Expected Outcomes

The project aims to generate both immediate humanitarian impact and longer-term systems change. NIKO is designed to achieve immediate improvements in disability inclusion by mapping and registering thousands of children with disabilities using the innovative DIDST, training frontline workers, expanding access to assistive technologies, strengthening referrals to essential services, and easing economic strain through innovative financing models. Over time, these efforts aim to build a scalable integrated model for better meeting the needs of children with disabilities during emergencies, which can be replicated by other counties and embedded in Kenya’s health and social protection systems. 

Who are the Project Partners

The project is implemented through a multisectoral partnership model that brings together county and national government, humanitarian agencies, technology innovators, and private sector actors.

The project is led by UNICEF, which provides strategic guidance, technical support, and oversight to ensure alignment with global disability and humanitarian standards.

It is implemented in partnership with the State Department of Social Protection Kenya and Kisumu County Government, alongside a consortium including AT4D, InABLE, and Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa.

Additional partners include Safaricom / Mezzanine, the National Fund for the Disabled of Kenya, and the International Labour Organization.