The number of street families in the country has declined by over 60 per cent in the last eight years, according to the 2025 National Census for Street Families report.

Nairobi, Nakuru and Mombasa counties continue to record the highest number of street families even as the numbers dropped from 46,000 to 18,000 in the period.

The census indicated that there were a total of 18,049 street-connected persons, where 78.6 per cent were male and 21.4 per cent female.

According to the latest report, Nairobi recorded a total of 4,690 street persons, Nakuru 1,546, Mombasa 1,428 and Kiambu 1,370 persons, while Nyandarua, Lamu and Tana River had the lowest.

According to CS for Gender, Culture and Children Services Hanna Wendot, the government was committed to scaling up key interventions in rehabilitation integration to rid the country of street families.

She noted that since the rehabilitation exercise was initiated in 2003, the country had made remarkable progress in rehabilitation of street families and was on course to ensure all persons had equal human dignity.

The CS was speaking in Avian Courts, Naivasha, when she officiated the launch of the 2025 National Street Families report.

She said that the government had allocated Ksh40 million towards rehabilitation programmes and capacity and skills training for vulnerable persons.

“Rising poverty, economic hardships, drug and substance abuse, and social and family instability are the major driving factors for migration to the street for the majority of persons,” she said.

Call for more support

Wendot, however, noted that the census had indicated that most of the population had indicated a willingness to leave street life if alternative measures and viable solutions were provided.

At the same time, the CS launched the Street Families Information Management System that was now capable of providing real data and statistics of the vulnerable population and inform data-driven interventions.

On the ongoing school arson and strikes, the CS rebuked the inhumane behaviour that had resulted in tens of institutions being closed, calling for a parental and whole-of-society approach to address the issue.

On her part, Mary Wambui, the Board Chair of the Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund, said they were seeking additional funding to scale up rehabilitation support systems and ensure those in rescue centres received life-enabling skills.

“Increased poverty levels, corporal punishment, denial of food and drunkard parents were the main causes of separation of children who go to the street,” she said.

According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Director-General Macdonald Obudho, the street families population had drastically reduced from over 46,000 in 2018 to 18,048 persons in 2025, driven by tailor-made interventions.

Obudho noted that a better family set-up has shown to be a key catalyst in addressing the influx of street families, adding that the organisation had started incorporating refugees and asylum seekers in the national census set for the 2028/29 financial year.

The report indicated that street families, especially girls and women, had suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse, mostly from both their fellow street families or law enforcement officers.

It indicated that 71 per cent of the families had used at least one substance, with glue, bhang and alcohol being the most abused amid low access to healthcare.