Community members in Homa Bay County — IDF's founding county and headquarters
4 Active Projects
Homa Bay County
USAID NYM Governance Malaria Water

IDF's home county & headquarters

Where it all began. IDF was born in Homa Bay in 1999 at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and from Kadongo Centre, Rachuonyo East, the organization has grown into a multi-county force for change. Today, Homa Bay remains IDF's most operationally intensive county — four concurrent projects, eight sub-counties, one mission.

The USAID Nuru Ya Mtoto project supports orphans and vulnerable children through integrated case management aligned with Kenya's 95-95-95 HIV strategy. The Kuimarisha Kaunti governance project, which reaches every sub-county, earned IDF the prestigious 2023 Ndovu Award — presented once every decade for outstanding civic mobilisation.

Ndovu Award 2023

Awarded once every 10 years for outstanding work mobilising citizens in county governance. IDF is the 2023 recipient in Homa Bay County.

6,768+
NYM Beneficiaries FY2024
114
Community Health Units
8
Sub-Counties
USAID NYM Project Kuimarisha Kaunti
Vihiga County community — USAID Nuru Ya Mtoto project serves families and youth here
Active Project
Vihiga County
USAID NYM DREAMS/AGYW

A county-wide promise to Vihiga's children

In every sub-county of Vihiga, IDF is working alongside families to give children the Healthy, Safe, Stable and Schooled future they deserve. As a Local Implementing Partner for PATH Kenya under the USAID Nuru Ya Mtoto programme, IDF's presence here is felt from doorstep to district.

Vihiga is one of the DREAMS-targeted counties — meaning adolescent girls and young women receive a comprehensive HIV prevention and social support package designed to break cycles of vulnerability. The programme launched with formal county government endorsement, building community ownership from day one.

AGYW Programme Focus

Targeted HIV prevention and economic empowerment services reach adolescent girls and young women across Sabatia and Emuhaya sub-counties.

1,916
Beneficiaries FY2024
2,346
COP Target
2021
Year Started
USAID NYM Project
Nyamira County — IDF works to safeguard children and adolescents affected by HIV
Active Project
Nyamira County
USAID NYM

Protecting every child's right to a future

Across the hills of Nyamira, IDF is helping the Government of Kenya honour its commitment to children and adolescents affected by HIV and AIDS. Under a five-year cooperative agreement with PATH Kenya, the programme is structured around four pillars — Healthy, Safe, Stable, and Schooled — each one a promise kept.

From keeping vulnerable students in school through fee assistance and supplies, to strengthening community systems so households can stand on their own, IDF's Nyamira programme connects every intervention to the United Nations' 95-95-95 goal of ending the HIV pandemic by 2030.

Keeping Children in School

School fee support, uniforms and learning materials reduce financial pressure on families affected by HIV, helping vulnerable students stay enrolled and progress academically.

918
Beneficiaries FY2024
1,412
COP Target
2021
Year Started
USAID NYM Project
Meru County — IDF implemented the Global Fund Malaria project 2018 to 2021
Completed 2021
Meru County
Global Fund Malaria

Bringing malaria care to the household door

Between 2018 and 2021, IDF took malaria treatment out of clinics and into communities across Meru County. Community Health Volunteers — equipped with mRDT kits and artemether-lumefantrine — became the first line of defence against a disease that had long burdened households far from health facilities.

Monthly quality audits, rigorous CHV training, and a robust data reporting chain connected to the Kenya Health Information System ensured that every case counted — and every treatment was delivered according to national guidelines. In Meru, IDF left behind not just healthier communities, but stronger health systems.

Community Case Management

Provision of malaria commodities to CHVs for routine household visits ensured accessibility and prompt management of suspected cases at the doorstep.

2018
Project Start
2021
Project End
3yrs
Duration
Global Fund Project Get In Touch
Tharaka Nithi County — IDF delivered malaria community case management 2018 to 2021
Completed 2021
Tharaka Nithi County
Global Fund Malaria

Training communities to defeat malaria

In Tharaka Nithi, the fight against malaria was won community by community, teacher by teacher, volunteer by volunteer. IDF delivered a comprehensive training programme for CHEWs, CHVs, and even schoolteachers — turning everyday community members into frontline health defenders equipped with testing kits and treatment.

Through Training of Trainers sessions, approximately 3,280 pupils participated in door-to-door health mobilisation — creating a ripple of awareness that reached households beyond the programme's direct reach. Quality audits ensured that every CHV maintained proficiency throughout the project period.

Quality Assurance

Routine malaria quality audits in Tharaka Nithi assessed medication practices and data management, ensuring consistent proficiency in mRDT testing and treatment dispensing.

2018
Project Start
2021
Project End
3yrs
Duration
Global Fund Project Get In Touch
Kwale County on the Kenyan coast — IDF delivered malaria community health services here
Completed 2021
Kwale County
Global Fund Malaria

Coastal communities, lasting health impact

On Kenya's coastal belt — where malaria is endemic and many households sit hours from the nearest clinic — IDF's community health model proved its worth. CHVs trained by IDF became the critical last mile, reaching underserved families with diagnosis and treatment that would otherwise have been inaccessible.

Beyond treatment, IDF invested in Kwale's health data infrastructure: funding data bundles for SCHRIOs and airtime for CHEWs to maintain consistent uploads to the Kenya Health Information System — ensuring Kwale's malaria indicators fed into the national surveillance picture in real time.

Strengthening Health Data

Data bundles for Sub-County Health Officers enabled consistent KHIS uploads, improving national malaria surveillance coverage across Kwale County's remote communities.

2018
Project Start
2021
Project End
3yrs
Duration
Global Fund Project Get In Touch
Kirinyaga County near Mount Kenya — IDF built lasting community health capacity here
Completed 2021
Kirinyaga County
Global Fund Malaria

Capacity built to last beyond the project

In the shadow of Mount Kenya, IDF's programme in Kirinyaga County was about more than malaria — it was about building a health system that would keep protecting communities long after the project closed. Monthly data review meetings, integrated supervision structures, and CHV training created institutional memory that remains.

By fully embedding trained CHVs and CHEWs within the County Health Management Team's supervision framework, IDF ensured that Kirinyaga's communities were not abandoned when the programme concluded. The relationships and systems built here form the foundation for future collaboration.

Lasting Partnerships

IDF's work in Kirinyaga strengthened its relationship with county health systems — creating a foundation for future collaboration on community health and disease prevention in the region.

2018
Project Start
2021
Project End
3yrs
Duration
Global Fund Project Get In Touch