“Human rights are not things that are put on the table for people to enjoy -These are things you fight for and then you protect,” Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai.

In a world where human rights are often treated as lofty ideals, the journey to constitutionalize the right to food in Kenya is a testament to the power of perseverance and collective action. The fight for a progressive constitution with a bill of rights that included economic, social, and cultural rights was enormous.

The fight bore Article 43 1c in the Kenyan Constitution of 2010 which boldly proclaims the right of every person to be free from hunger and to have access to adequate food of acceptable quality. The government is obligated to observe, respect, protect, promote, and fulfill the right to food, with a promise of progressive realization. Despite the legal protection of the right to food, it is largely just a legal concept, hidden in books. The harsh reality is that many Kenyans still struggle to put food, particularly acceptable quality food on the table.  In the sprawling urban informal settlements in Kenya and other sub-Saharan African countries, where poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition abound, the right to food cannot continue to be just a legal concept – It urgently needs to be made visible, and the communities ought to be empowered to demand it.

Recognizing the urgency for action to actualize the right, the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) through its Zero Hunger Initiative has in the last few years, helped urban poor communities to build a social movement – now dubbed the Zero Hunger Movement. The movement works with community-organized groups (COGs), comprised mainly of youth groups in urban poor settings to promote and create awareness of their right to food. The movement enhances people’s agency to feed themselves in dignity as they hold the duty bearers accountable for the actualization of the right. The groups stimulate community dialogues on the right to food using participatory methodologies including photovoice, digital storytelling, soup kitchen, theatre, human library, graffiti, wall murals, and live radio shows to create awareness and build agency. They also engage in the policy processes as part of public participation provided for in the constitution.

“We at SIDAREC strive to empower the local communities, men, women, children, disabled, old, weak… We want to amplify their voices to become louder so that they can demand their rights including eating healthy and decent food.”  (SIDAREC COG, Mukuru Kwa Jenga, Nairobi)

Through the right to food dialogues, the communities have realized that the right to food should not just be a distant ideal but a reality to be lived, one that they can claim for themselves. They have a newfound sense of power – the power to feed themselves in dignity. They have also learned about their responsibilities and the obligations of the government. Collective actions e.g. through urban farming have emerged as a beacon of hope, a way for the communities to feed themselves in dignity and to promote their food sovereignty.

“We learned that citizens have a right to demand good services from their government and that community efforts and collective actions of different stakeholders are necessary for achieving food security (Household of Love Centre, Korogocho and Kibera, Nairobi).

“Implementing the right-to-food program ignited an unwavering passion for addressing the dire food security situation in Kenya, particularly for the most vulnerable, including persons with disabilities and those residing in informal settlements. Originating from my involvement in the ‘follow the money’ initiative, I seamlessly transitioned my focus to scrutinize public funds designated for the agriculture, rural, and urban development (ARUD) sector as part of the right-to-food project. … I am on a transformative mission to not only influence substantial budget allocations to the ARUD sector but also to steadfastly engage with government entities on both national and local levels, paving the way for a future where food security is an unassailable reality for all” (Team Leader, SIDAREC, Mukuru Nairobi).

The growing Zero Hunger Social Movement has led to a community of practice amongst the community-organized groups whose members share common goals of serving the vulnerable urban poor communities. Indeed, even in the face of multiple challenges, all is not lost! The urban poor in Kenya are living up to this hope. A step ahead in the actualization of the right to food is the enactment of a framework law on the right to food. The Zero Hunger Initiative team at APHRC is part of the Right to Food Coalition in Kenya, comprising civil society organizations that are pushing for a bill of parliament to bring to force an Act of Parliament on the right to food.

By Felistus Mwalia & Dr. Elizabeth Wambui Kimani – Murage