As Kenya’s health sector navigates a major shift toward Government-to-Government (G2G) financing, health-focused civil society organizations (CSOs) are facing urgent questions about their role, sustainability, and influence. For many Kenyan-based CSOs, this moment calls for rethinking positioning, coordination, and collective voice within a rapidly changing ecosystem.
In response, Humentum and Health NGOs Network (HENNET) are partnering to support Kenyan health CSOs through this period of change. The partnership will be done through the TIME Transformation Lab initiative, led by Humentum and funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
From reflection to action: a Kenya-based CSO working group
The partnership has established a Kenya-based working group bringing together CSOs and sector leaders. The working group provides structured space for organizations to reflect together, test assumptions, and move toward shared action in response to G2G-related shifts.
“Humentum’s flexibility and genuine commitment to co-creation is enabling us to move beyond theory into action. Together, we have established a CSO working group that is developing a clear and actionable CSO engagement roadmap, one that advances the collective mandate of civil society in accountability, advocacy, and the amplification of community voices in policy and law-making processes,” said Dr. Margaret Lubaale, Executive Director of HENNET.
The working group will:
- Create structured space for local leaders and organizations to navigate funding shifts and ecosystem volatility
- Develop insights on governance and operational redesign
- Build feedback loops between local groups and global transformation conversations
- Strengthen coordination within Kenya’s health and civil society ecosystem
This work reflects a core principle of the TIME initiative: transformation must be informed and co-shaped by those closest to local realities.
“HENNET is an incredibly trusted and well-established health network with deep roots in their community and a long track record of collective action. They bring critical insight into what health civil society in Kenya needs in this moment of real change, and Humentum is proud to support through our participatory approach and lessons from working with other global communities. It’s a true partnership — grounded in shared values, complementary strengths, and a commitment to learning out loud as we go,” said Kim Kucinskas, Technical Director at Humentum and TIME Program Director.
“Working with HENNET has been a natural fit. They bring deep credibility, strong relationships, and a clear understanding of what health civil society in Kenya needs right now, and we’re able to complement that with our methodology and experience from other contexts,” Kim Kucinskas added.
Keeping civil society central during transition
For HENNET and its members, this partnership is ultimately about ensuring that civil society remains visible, influential, and effective — even as the system around it changes.
“Our partnership has proven both strategic and catalytic. It has evolved through honest reflection and shared purpose into a far more urgent agenda focusing on enabling civil society organizations in Kenya to reposition, strategize, and clearly define their role within a rapidly shifting landscape shaped by the transition to government-to-government financing model,” said Dr. Lubaale.
“This work is ultimately about ensuring that, even amid transition, the voice and value of civil society remain central, visible, and influential. Our strength lies in our ability to act together. This is the moment to shift from fragmentation to collective power and to secure lasting influence.”
Connecting G2G realities in Kenya to the TIME Transformation Lab
The TIME Transformation Lab supports real-time transformation by combining sensemaking, practical experimentation, and shared learning that others can use and adapt. Learning emerging from the Kenya working group will contribute insight into how civil society can remain coordinated, effective, and influential during G2G transitions in Kenya and other countries navigating similar shifts.
By intentionally linking Kenya’s experience to TIME’s broader learning agenda, the partnership ensures that local insight from organizations in Kenya informs both national strategy and global conversations about equitable, resilient development.
For media enquiries, contact:
Amanda Hinkel-Mauceri,
amanda.hinkel-mauceri@humentum.org
Director, Marketing & Communications,
Humentum