6. MONITORING THE COUNTRY PROGRAMME

The overall progress of the country programme will be monitored through the annual monitoring of the ERSWEC undertaken by Kenya’s government. A monitoring framework for the ERSWEC with quarterly progress reports is planned. This will allow monitoring of development activities and dialogue based on a shared understanding of progress. The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) will oversee the implementation of the ERSWEC. Denmark will support this work. A shortlist of indicators monitored will be incorporated in the annual progress report of the ERSWEC.

There is still a need for designing and implementing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework that refers to the MDGs as benchmarks for the achievement of progress in development. Strengthened capacity will be required to accomplish this. A well-defined and effective Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Public Expenditure Review Process are necessary to review budget allocation and actual expenditure.

Data on poverty has been obtained from the 1997 Welfare Monitoring Survey. More recent and comprehensive data will enable the Kenyan government to design its policies. The Integrated Household Budget Survey in 2005/2006 will help to fill the gaps in poverty assessment by providing critical data for estimating poverty incidence, depth, distribution and trends. Denmark has supported the survey.

Monitoring of the country programme will be undertaken through high-level consultations between Denmark and Kenya, which will focus on the implementation of the ERSWEC and Danish support to the selected sectors. Ongoing monitoring will be assured through annual reporting by the Danish Em

Monitoring of SPS and other programmes supported will be undertaken by the programme management using three sets of indicators:

• Output indicators to be monitored annually (e.g. the number of health clinics established).
• Outcome indicators to be monitored every third year (e.g. the number of persons having access to primary health care).
• Impact indicators to be monitored after five years (e.g. reduced child mortality and increased life expectancy).

Monitoring systems for SPS and other supported programmes should be integrated into national monitoring systems, and, where possible, indicators should be identical to national indicators (impact indicators should be PRSP indicators).