The National Care Needs Assessment was undertaken in collaboration between the Kenya Bureau of Statistics, the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, the National Gender and Equality Commission, the Council of Governors, and the University of Nairobi, with support from UN Women. The assessment used data from the Kenya time-use survey to infer demand for care from childcare, health sector, domestic work and domestic workers’ perspectives. The methodology involved costing care coverage gaps emerging from imbalances between the demand for and supply of care to estimate job creation, necessary investments, and estimating the costs and benefits for government expenditures and revenues. It also included an in-depth review of legislation, government policies and norms, and care-related infrastructure. 

The National Care Needs Assessment informed the 2023 development of Kenya’s National Care Policy, with evidence-based policy recommendations on how such work can be supported, building on the 5R Framework (to recognize, reduce, redistribute unpaid care work and reward and represent paid care work), and policy tools developed under the UN Women/ILO Joint Programme Promoting Decent Work Through Inclusive Growth Policies and Investment in Care.