Zizi Afrique Foundation

20/08/2026

Today, Mizizi Elimu Afrika, in collaboration with the Kirinyaga County Director of Education (CDE), convened a closed-door leadership meeting with 10 senior "Napenda Kusoma" education leaders from Kirinyaga.

The meeting focused on accelerating progress towards ensuring all children read by Grade 3 and reflecting on findings from the Napenda Kusoma assessments to inform future programming and county-level decision-making

Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa - Alive fans

19/08/2026

We are delighted to be participating in the Kenya Teachers Colleges Principals Association (KTCPA) Annual Conference 2026, taking place from 15th–22nd August 2026 in Mombasa.

This year’s theme is: “Foundations First: Leading Institutional Excellence for Teacher Preparation in Foundational Learning for Better Educational Outcomes at Scale.”

During today's afternoon session, Mizizi Elimu Afrika Literacy Coordinator, Mr. Symon Muchiri, alongside Machakos and Eregi TTCs, shared how My Village Holiday Camps have exposed student teachers to effective teaching approaches while supporting learners to develop essential literacy skills.

“The impact of the village holiday camps goes beyond what Mizizi Elimu Afrika had thought. Our students gained better teaching approaches that strengthened their practicum performance. Volunteers who participated in the camps performed better in practicum than their peers, while learners developed literacy skills, with many able to read within three weeks. This experience demonstrated the power of individualised instruction and the importance of giving greater attention to learners who are left behind.” - Keziah Munioh, Chief Principal, Machakos TTC.

18/08/2026

Turning Gender Research into Action

At the dissemination of the National Gender Research Agenda(NGRA), Dr. Purity Ngina, PhD, MBS, CEO of the The National Gender and Equality Commission-Kenya, highlighted a critical priority: ensuring research responds to the real, local challenges facing communities across Kenya.

Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa - Alive African Population and Health Research Center fans

14/08/2026

From Research to Action for Gender Equality

After two years of collaboration, the National Gender Research Agenda (NGRA) is now moving into implementation.

Dr. Mary Chepkemoi of Mizizi Elimu Afrika highlights three key Action Labs:

🔹 Strengthening gender data generation and use
🔹 Leveraging technology and AI for gender equality
🔹 Building multisectoral partnerships

This milestone shows what is possible when government, civil society, researchers and other partners work together.

African Population and Health Research Center Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa - Alive The National Gender and Equality Commission-Kenya National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation Usawa Agenda FAWE Africa Kippra Kenya

12/08/2026

Key highlights from Keynote speaker, Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, PhD, EBS Principal Secretary, State Department for Science, Research and Innovation during the Dissemination of the National Gender Research Agenda(NGRA) in Nairobi, Kenya.

✅ Women make up about 47% of Kenya's population, yet women remain underrepresented in senior leadership, including political leadership. Gender discussions should involve men as allies and agents of change, rather than being dominated by women alone.

✅ Research should not be conducted merely for its own sake; it should generate evidence that helps understand and solve societal problems.

✅ Called for better collection and analysis of gender-disaggregated data to help in identifying inequalities.

✅ Underscored the need for Research teams to have meaningful gender balance, with both women and men participating.

✅ Kenya currently spends about 0.78% of GDP on research, technology and innovation. He dvocated for the increasing this to at least 1%, moving toward the 2% commitment referenced in the Science, Technology and Innovation Act.

✅ Sub-Saharan Africa has far fewer researchers per million people than the global average. There's need to increase investment and capacity in research.

✅ 74% of Kenya's research is donor funded. There's need to strengthen domestic financing and co-investment to support its own research and development priorities.

✅ Emphasized the need for Kenya to build stronger connections among universities, research institutions, innovation centres, UN entities, government, and industry in order to position Kenya as a regional hub for science, technology and innovation while reducing duplication of efforts.

African Population and Health Research Center Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa - Alive The National Gender and Equality Commission-Kenya National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation Usawa Agenda FAWE Africa Kippra Kenya

12/08/2026

📚 Research should lead to action, not just reports.

Dr. Idris Salim Dokota, PhD, CBS, Principal Secretary, State Department for Cabinet Affairs, challenged stakeholders to rethink how we measure the value of research.

Instead of asking:

👉 Have we conducted research?
We should ask: Has the research changed a decision?

👉 Have we published a report?
We should ask: Has the evidence changed a programme, budget, regulation or implementation approach?

👉 How many studies have we published?
We should ask: What measurable value has the research created?

He also emphasised that gender equality is everyone’s concern. It is not a single-sector issue, it affects government and non-government institutions and shapes outcomes in the economy, education, healthcare, leadership and decision-making.

African Population and Health Research Center Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa - Alive The National Gender and Equality Commission-Kenya National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation Usawa Agenda FAWE Africa Kippra Kenya

12/08/2026

12/08/2026

What should Kenya’s gender research focus on?

The National Gender Research Agenda highlights five priority areas:

✅ Root causes of gender inequality
✅ Understanding intersectionality
✅ Gender transformation
✅ Systemic issues in gender
✅ Emerging and contemporary gender issues

From gender norms and leadership to technology, AI, climate change, GBV, humanitarian crises, and the digital divide, the agenda calls for evidence that can help Kenya understand persistent challenges while responding to emerging ones.

African Population and Health Research Center Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa - Alive The National Gender and Equality Commission-Kenya National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation Usawa Agenda FAWE Africa Kippra Kenya

12/08/2026

Dissemination of the National Gender Research Agenda (NGRA)

11/08/2026

From Evidence to Action: Advancing Kenya’s National Gender Research Agenda

Tomorrow, 12 August 2026, Mizizi Elimu Afrika is partnering with the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), National Commission for Science, Tech & Innovation (NACOSTI) and other partners to convene stakeholders for the dissemination of the National Gender Research Agenda (NGRA).

The NGRA responds to the need for more coordinated, accessible, and actionable gender research and evidence to inform policy, programming, advocacy, and practice in Kenya.

Its key objective is to move beyond fragmented research efforts towards a coordinated and transformative gender research ecosystem where evidence is generated, shared, accessed, and used to advance equality and inclusion.

This engagement is an important step towards translating research priorities into policy and practice.

The National Gender and Equality Commission-Kenya FAWE Africa National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation African Population and Health Research Center Kenyatta University