Page 526 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

Sustainable Development Cases in Africa Chapter j 23 495

inequality, the new Constitution requires a minimum 30% female represen-
tation in parliament and 33% female representation minimum in government
appointments. Additionally, the ratio of female to male students in primary
school was 0.95% in 2012, which indicates that primary school attendance in
Kenya will achieve gender parity. Children (younger than 5 years) mortality
(per 1000 live births) has fallen from 114 in 2003 to 74 in 2009. Infant
mortality (per 1000 live births) has fallen from 77 in 2003 to 52 in 2009, and as
of 2016, it has fallen even further to 38.3. National HIV prevalence declined
from 7.4% in 2007 to 6.3% in 2010, and as of 2015, it was down to 5.9%. Even
with the significant progress toward meeting MDGs 2, 3, 4, and 6, Kenya was
still struggling to meet MDGs 1, 5, 7, and 8. This is primarily attributed to
inadequate resources and financing, the postelection unrest in 2007/2008 that
resulted in a food and fuel crisis, as well as unfavorable international trade
practices within Kenya (UN KY, 2012; CIA, 2017a,b,c).
Under the political pillar, the Vision saw the successful establishment of
several commissions in charge of national cohesion, postelection violence,
independent truth, justice, and reconciliation, and public complaints. Addi-
tionally, the promulgation of the Constitution in 2010 is another significant
success for Vision 2030 and resulted in establishment of various oversight
committees in charge of implementing the Constitution, as well as institutional
offices including the Supreme Court, Commission of Revenue Allocation, and
the Judicial Service Commission (UN KY, 2012).
In addition to the efforts being made by the Kenyan government, several
international institutions including the World Bank and the Nordic Develop-
ment Fund (NDF) have been working at the state and local levels to advance
Kenya’s sustainable development goals. The NDF with help from both inter-
national and local partners is involved in a significant number of projects
throughout the country. For the purposes of this case study we will focus on
three: (1) climate-resilient low-cost buildings in Marsabit County, (2)
leveraging markets for climate friendly sustainable development in Laikipia,
and (3) off-grid electrification using wind and solar energy.
1. Marsabit county is located in northern Kenya. With a hot and arid climate,
it is one of the least developed regions in the country with scarce water and
energy resources. Climate change is a significant threat to the citizens as
they have been forced to adapt to increasingly harsh weather conditions.
The majority of the population in the urban areas live in housing often
constructed from iron sheets, which proves little protection from the harsh
climate and generally fails to provide basic services such as plumbing or
electricity. The NDF, along with its partners, has decided to launch a pilot
project to address this issue. The project itself is expected to provide
training to local citizens as well as showcase sustainable construction and
energy-efficient technologies in both public and private sector buildings.
Furthermore, partnership with local governments will facilitate the incor-
poration of energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) measures