This report is one of a set of case studies undertaken as part of the Strategic Joint Evaluation of the Collective International Development and Humanitarian Assistance Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. It presents findings on the relevance, coherence, effectiveness and efficiency of the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya, and highlights lessons for future crises. A lower-middle income country in the east Africa region, Kenya was selected due to its regional importance, and the scale of international support received during the pandemic: in fact, the country was the fifth-largest recipient of official development assistance in 2020, due to a large increase in assistance to support the country during the pandemic. The study was carried out by the Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) of the African Development Bank in collaboration with the OECD. Kenya’s experience – as for many other countries – highlights the critical role of proactive leadership and the alignment of international support with government priorities. Kenya also provides a positive example of the successful expansion of social protection programmes to respond to emerging needs.
