Response to hunger and vulnerability through food relief is often very costly to deliver and has no flexibility in terms of extending family expenditure beyond food consumption. Many times, families receiving food relief sell part of it to obtain cash to meet other non-food needs.It is not possible to invest or save food relief for future consumption.It is in response to this that the Government of Kenya (GoK) with funding from Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom,initiated a Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP). The programme was arrived at through a bilateral agreement between the Government of Kenya and the UK Government in September 2007. The grant from DFID is worth £ 80 million over 10years (2007 – 2017).In 2009, the Australian Government through AusAid entered into a partnership with DFID Kenya and gave financial support to HSNP of a 5 year grant.

Hunger and Safety Net Programme (HSNP),is a safety net building social protection programme that seeks to alleviate extreme hunger and poverty in Northern Kenya. Long term, regular and unconditional cash transfer was piloted(Phase I 2008-2012) through HSNP as the best way to solve chronic food shortages in arid and semi-arid lands.Phase 1 targeted 69,000 household (496,800 people; 52% of whom are female household representatives.

Phase 2 of the programme began actively began in January 2013. In the proposed £86M HSNP Phase 2, beneficiaries will increase to 720,000 (52% women) and they will move to a full transactional bank account.Objectives of Phase 2 are: 1) Help to ensure effective, financially secure and well-targeted use of safety net and cash transfer programmes to support some of the most vulnerable and poor in Kenya 2) A scaled up, integrated and effective government-led and financed social protection.The programme is in the four larger districts of Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit and Turkana. See HSNP past, present and future.