Although Kenya's economy is the largest and most developed in eastern and central Africa, 36.1% (2015/2016) of its population lives below the international poverty line. 3.9 million Kenyans, some 8% of the population, face the stark reality of living in extreme poverty. This severe poverty is mainly caused by economic inequality, government corruption and health problems. Kenya experienced robust economic growth from 2005-06 to 2015-16, growing at an average annual rate of 5.3%, higher than the average in Sub-Saharan Africa. This growth translated into gains in the fight to reduce poverty, with about 4.5 million Kenyans escaping poverty.
Launched in 2008 by President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya Vision 2030 aims to transform Kenya into an actively modernizing middle-income country that provides a better quality of life for every Kenyan by 2030. Lastly, they aim to provide more access to primary education through increased funding and reconstruction of primary schools in more rural geographic areas. With the assistance of the Commission of Poverty Eradication and Poverty Eradication Unit, the National Poverty Eradication provided various poverty reduction programmes to against poverty in Kenya.
As part of KIF's global target on ending extreme poverty, KIF created the global initiative called 1000 Ways To Give, which is localized and implemented by KIF's national chapters in different countries where the initiative is needed.