By Omboki Monayo
Nairobi, Kenya: Neale Richmond TD, Ireland’s Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, visited Kenya from March 11-13, 2025. This trip was not only Richmond’s first official visit to Africa since taking office but also a significant visit for international development.
This visit underscored Ireland’s commitment to strengthening ties with the continent, particularly in international development, peacebuilding, and climate action. It coincided with the lead-up to Ireland’s annual Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, a time to highlight Ireland’s global connections and partnerships.
Minister Richmond engaged with Principal Secretary for Diaspora Affairs Roseline Njogu and Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife Rebecca Miano at a Saint Patrick’s Day reception.
Minister Richmond engaged with Kenyan officials, business leaders, and the Irish diaspora, focusing on enhancing trade, investment, and development cooperation.
He emphasized Ireland’s legacy in Kenya, stating, “Ireland has a proud legacy in Kenya that continues through the work of the Government of Ireland International Development Programme and our NGO and UN partners operating there.”
On her part, CS Miano lauded the two countries’ efforts to jointly advocate for climate action and call for inclusive climate financing that will enable countries in the Global South to adequately address and resolve the climate change challenges.
“In the spirit of multilateralism, Kenya and Ireland has demonstrated concerted efforts in addressing the most pressing global issues ~ climate action and biodiversity protection. As a people, Kenya highly regards our collective action in building a sustainable and resilient future,” said Ms. Miano.
The CS added that Ireland’s support would play a significant role in Kenya’s objective of effectively conserving the environment, promoting the tourism sector and nurturing sustainable development.
“During this auspicious occasion, on behalf of the government, I appreciate Ireland’s enhanced partnership in our global agenda on climate action, green growth, and the call for a fair and inclusive global financing framework. These are crucial areas of great interest, especially in the management of our ecosystems, a central aspect of our tourism sector,” the CS said.
In West Pokot, he highlighted Ireland’s support for the “Powering Peace through Climate Action” project, which fosters peace through climate-focused community plans. He also visited Nasokol Girls High School, a partner of the Young Scientist Kenya (STEM) program, in which Ireland has invested over €1 million Euros since 2017.
During his visit to Nairobi, he met with UN representatives and visited community projects in Mathare’s Area 4B to engage with local organizations and witness the impact of Ireland’s development aid in the country.
“We want to see where Irish money is being invested in communities, because of our desire to see the people, particularly the youth, the women and girls, succeed. We have a responsibility to play our part because that’s in our interest,” said the minister.
Mr. Richmond confirmed his government’s satisfaction with the progress made in the Kenyan projects it had funded, saying it was a good decision despite the current global slowdown in donor funding for community development projects in resource scarce countries and regions.
“We are seeing the work that organizations are doing and the impact that they are making on the ground, and most importantly the potential for even greater progress. It’s really reassuring in a time of international difficulties to go home and say that this is a good investment,” he said.
Moto Brix co-founder and chairman Calvin Shikuku told the Irish delegation that the community had been adversely impacted by the recent flooding that led to loss of life and property as well as the displacement of area residents that had to move to higher ground to escape the rising river levels and raging floodwaters .
“Many of our people lost homes, properties and livelihoods due to the flooding, which also interfered with the schooling of the children that lost their parents and guardians. In some cases, their education was interrupted because the schools they were attending were damaged,” Shikuku said.
He said the group, which makes briquettes from recycled waste, has been educating the immediate Mathare Area 4B on the need to practice safe and sustainable waste disposal.
“We are training the people to sort and separate garbage for easier collection and disposal by individuals and youth groups that supply us with the waste that we use for recycling as briquettes for fuel,” he said, adding that the CBO initially encountered resistance when it started the recycling activity.
“It wasn’t an easy process to convince the locals when we first began our project, but after we helped them understand that dumping waste in the river and drainage system contributed to the flooding, they have embraced waste disposal as part of environmental conservation and climate change mitigation,” he revealed.
As part of his commitment to development assistance, Minister Richmond announced significant funding for various projects in Kenya. These include €140,000 for UN Women and UNHCR to support women’s political leadership and peace initiatives, €421,321 for the International Rescue Committee to combat gender-based violence and €1 million for UNICEF to provide Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food for malnourished children. Additionally, €160,000 was allocated to Young Scientist Kenya for STEM education initiatives.
With the visit, the Irish government has underscored its commitment to increasing its overseas development assistance (ODA) towards the UN target of 0.7% of Gross National Income. As Mr Richmond noted, “While the impact of climate change and conflict is threatening the lives and livelihoods of many people in Kenya, there are also critical opportunities to build peace and bolster innovation and development.”
