Kenya

Beginning in the 1990s, The Carter Center worked with ministries of health in Kenya to help the country become one of the first endemic countries to halt transmission of Guinea worm disease. Building on that success and partnership, the Center has sent teams to observe multiple Kenyan elections over more than two decades. More recently, the Center partnered with Nairobi and Kisumu County as part of its groundbreaking Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign.

Short-term Goals

We are working to empower women through access to information.

Impact

Determined the importance of technology in the 2022 presidential election
Received World Health Organization certification in 2018 that Kenya had eliminated Guinea worm disease
Deployed election observation teams in 2013 and 2016 that called for calm dialogue and legal remedies
Observed Kenyans voting in 2002, the first free general election since the country’s independence in 1965

Carter Center Expands Global Inform Women, Transform Lives Campaign to 13 New Cities

Press Release
Sep. 29, 2025

Thanks to Jimmy Carter, Guinea Worm Disease is on the Verge of Extinction

Media Coverage
Jun. 14, 2023

Carter Center Report: Technology Helped Enhance Transparency of Kenyan Election; IEBC Should Ensure Earlier Preparations for 2027

Press Release
Sep. 7, 2022

Active

Empowerment through Information

Through its groundbreaking Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign, The Carter Center partners with city leaders worldwide to raise awareness about women’s right to access information and to help cities reach women with valuable information and essential municipal services.

Access to this information empowers women with a stronger voice, enabling them to participate in public life, utilize public services, and make more informed decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. In Kenya, the project has partnered with the city of Nairobi and Kisumu County.

Legacy

Democracy

In 2002, Mwai Kibaki was elected to succeed longtime President Daniel arap Moi, who was forbidden by the national constitution from running again. It was a milestone election, breaking a 34-year political hold by the ruling party of Kenya. The Carter Center was there to observe the electoral process, with observers visiting more than 200 polling stations in Nairobi and six provinces.

We’ve since sent missions, both big and small, to observe other elections in 2013, 2017, and 2022.

The 2013 elections represented a unique occasion for Kenya to begin a new chapter, following ethnic-fueled postelection violence in 2007-2008 that left more than 1,000 people dead and more than 600,000 displaced. The 2013 elections were the first to be conducted under the 2010 constitution.

The political environment was highly polarized and divisive throughout the 2017 electoral period. Instances of violence occurred, beginning with the political party primaries.

Then, in 2022, we deployed a small expert mission to Nairobi, focused primarily on assessing the role of technology in the presidential election.

More information about all of these elections is available in our publications section.

Related Tags

Democracy
Inform Women, Transform Lives
Peace

Legacy

Guinea Worm

Current Status: Transmission stopped, 1994
Certification of Dracunculiasis Elimination: 2018

Since 1986, The Carter Center has led the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease. In 1993, we began supporting Kenya’s Ministry of Health to find and contain all the country’s cases of Guinea worm disease, whilepreventing new cases.

Our Work and Methods

The project conducted village-by-village searches for cases of Guinea worm disease in areas thought to be at greatest risk. A total of 53 cases of Guinea worm disease, most of them imported from Sudan, were found.

A reliable disease-reporting system was developed by the Ministry of Health with assistance from the World Health Organization.

Impacts

In 1994, Kenya became one of the first countries in the world to stop transmission of Guinea worm disease since the campaign began in 1986.
In 2000, Kenya was honored at a special ceremony at The Carter Center in Atlanta for having stopped Guinea worm disease transmission. After submitting the necessary documentation and hosting an inspection visit, Kenya received WHO certification that it had eliminated Guinea worm in 2018.