Eradicating Extreem Poverty in West Pokot by 2025: policy Priorities And lessons From the Development of Kenya's First County Poverty Graduation Policy in West Pokot

Abstract

This paper reflects on what was achieved in 2020 since the West Pokot County Government, and partners embarked on a journey to scale up poverty graduation resulting in an approved county poverty graduation policy and maps out a pathway for policy implementation. Like the policy process itself, the paper uses key dimensions for achieving systemic change at scale that comprise Wasafiri’s Systemcraft1 approach to present the lessons. The paper is intended to be a resource for the county government of West Pokot and other county governments interested in approaches to graduation, national government stakeholders (such as those involved in the roll out of the Kenya Social Economic Inclusion Programme (KSEIP) economic inclusion pilots), development partners and practitioners. The paper was developed as a joint effort, through interviews and brainstorming sessions with people involved in the project. It aims to capture the experience of the county government’s Technical Working Group, which has driven the process of developing the policy, and Wasafiri and Village Enterprise staff who have supported it.