Toolkit for Care Mainstreaming in Planning and Budgeting

The Nairobi City County Care Mainstreaming Toolkit provides a comprehensive and practical framework for integrating care into the County’s planning, budgeting, and service delivery systems. It responds to the findings of the State of Care Report and the City’s evolving demographic profile, which underscores a high demand for childcare, adolescent support, social services, and community-based care systems.

The Toolkit is grounded in the constitutional and statutory framework governing County planning and public finance, and operationalizes care as a cross-cutting development priority within the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), Annual Development Plans (ADPs), Programme-Based Budgets, and departmental strategies. It introduces practical tools including care impact assessments, budget tagging systems, performance indicators, and monitoring frameworks to ensure that care considerations are systematically embedded in decision-making processes.

At its core, the Toolkit seeks to achieve three strategic outcomes. First, it institutionalizes care as a public good and a fundamental component of human development and social protection. Second, it promotes equitable access to care services across Nairobi’s diverse communities, particularly in underserved and informal settlements. Third, it positions care as a driver of economic inclusion by reducing unpaid care burdens and enabling greater participation in productive activities.

The successful implementation of this Toolkit requires strong inter-departmental coordination, sustained political commitment, and robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. It also calls for active collaboration with non-state actors, development partners, and communities to co-create solutions that are responsive, scalable, and sustainable.

This Toolkit is therefore both a policy instrument and an operational guide, designed to transform how Nairobi plans, budgets, and delivers services in a manner that is inclusive, equitable, and anchored in dignity.