MONITORING AND EVALUATION STRATEGIES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CHILD PROTECTION PROGRAMS IN NYAMIRA COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Ministry of Health (MOH) reports indicate that of the 18,203 pregnant women coming in for their first antenatal care visit in 2020 in Nyamira county, about 5,400 were adolescent girls. In Nyamira County, poor parenting was rated as the most serious harm to children wellbeing (25%). According to data recorded by the Children Protection Management Information System (CPMIS) between 2020 and 2021, out of every 10 children in Nyamira, four of them are neglected by their parents. The general objective of the study is to establish the relationship between monitoring and evaluation strategies on implementation of child protection programs in Nyamira County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to determine the effect of M&E learning on implementation of child protection programs in Nyamira County, Kenya and to establish the effect of dissemination of M&E results on performance of implementation of child protection programs in Nyamira County, Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive research. The study targeted 128 respondents from 12 child protection organizations in Nyamira County.  The unit of observation was the organizations directors, social workers, county coordination for children affairs, and the County M&E officers. Census approach was appropriate for selecting the sample for this study, and the sample size for the study was 128 respondents. This study also used questionnaire to collect data relevant to this study. Quantitative data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques which are frequencies, mean, standard deviation. Inferential statistics which include Pearson correlation and the Regression Analysis Model was used to test the relationship between study variables. The significance of the model was tested at 5% level of significance. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The study results were presented through use of tables and figures. Findings show that; a   strong significant relationship between M&E learning and project implementation (r=0.786, p=0.000), and a strong significant relationship between dissemination  of M&E results and project  implementation (r=0.841, p=0.000). The study recommended that; The management should improve on M&E capacity building to focus on monitoring and evaluation activities such as data collection, analysis, and utilization. The management should have an effective result dissemination plan to ensure that all stakeholders are well informed about the  M&E report.

Key Words: Monitoring and Evaluation Strategies, M&E Learning, Dissemination of M&E Results, Performance of Implementation of Child Protection Programs