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Civil Society Responds and Sets Advocacy Priorities after Kenya’s UPR Review

Civil Society Responds and Sets Advocacy Priorities after Kenya’s UPR Review

Kenya underwent its fourth voluntary review of its human rights before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in May 2025. The country received 339 recommendations from 122 countries. Of these, the State accepted 232, noted 106, and committed to responding to one recommendation later. This cycle marks the highest number of noted recommendations that Kenya has recorded, reflecting a growing disconnect between government priorities and the human rights-based concerns raised by civil society.  

In health, the country received 52 recommendations for improving health outcomes. Given this feedback, the right to health thematic group,  convened by KELIN- Kenya,  held a consultative meeting on 30 July. The aim was to analyse the State’s submission to Geneva, identify advocacy priorities, and develop a practical implementation plan in preparation for engagement with government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) ahead of the formal adoption of the UPR report at the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council in September/October 2025. 

Our Associate Programme Officer-Africa, Roselyne Onyango, joined national organisations in reviewing the State’s reported progress and peer recommendations. The group acknowledged some of the government’s reported progress; however, we also flagged significant inconsistencies and persistent gaps that remain unaddressed. In response to the issues we raised under health financing,  the State held that the budgetary allocation has steadily risen. Under this issue, the peer recommendations by states focused on enhancing maternal health care, promoting public healthcare, and strengthening care services in rural areas. Malaysia was the only State that explicitly recommended that Kenya increase public financing for primary health care to improve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Encouragingly, all these recommendations were accepted by Kenya.  

However, we remain concerned that the State merely noted recommendations related to recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity, and critical issues raised by the thematic group, such as gaps in tuberculosis service delivery and mental health, did not receive any peer recommendations from missions in Geneva.  

As part of the draft implementation plan, the UPR Right to Health thematic Group proposed a series of joint lobbying actions to be pursued over the next four years. These include advocating for the government to increase public investment in health to meet its Abuja Declaration commitment of allocating at least 15% of its national budget on health, calling for the earmarking of tobacco and other sin tax revenues to boost domestic health financing, and demanding greater transparency and accountability in budget allocations and spending across the health sectors. 

Our engagement in these discussions continues to reflect our commitment to working with local partners to advance sustainable financing for health and ensure the realisation of the right to health for all in Kenya. 

The following steps for CSOs in this space will be meeting with government representatives ahead of the formal adoption of the UPR report at the 60th UN Human Rights Council session in September/October 2025.  

You can access all the documents related to the review of Kenya here

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