Extreme inequality is not inevitable, it is a matter of political choice. This petition calls for all public servants and elected officials including their families to attend public schools and hospitals. As servants of the people mandated by the Kenyan constitution, these institutions can only be improved if these officials have a direct stake in improving public healthcare for the benefit of all. To reduce it to sustainable levels, the Kenyan government should implement economic policies and legislation to reform the fiscal system, raise sufficient financing for free, quality public education and healthcare, and close the economic inequality gap. By doing so, it could help lift millions out of poverty and ensure a more equal and prosperous future for all Kenyans:

• Kenya experiences high levels of inequality in healthcare and access to care services. In 2018, decades of sustained political efforts to promote equitable, affordable and quality healthcare system culminated in the launch of a universal health coverage scheme, initially piloted in four Kenyan counties and planned for national rollout by 2022. However, there is significant inequality and inequity in the use of all types of care services favouring richer population groups, with particularly pronounced levels for preventive and inpatient care services. These are driven primarily by differences in living standards and educational achievement, while the region of residence is a key driver for inequality in preventive care use only. Pro-rich inequalities are particularly pronounced for care provided in privately owned facilities, while public providers serve a much larger share of individuals from lower socio-economic groups.
•  In the same breath, the educational landscape of present-day Kenya remains the end result of a long process of structuring, whose roots date back to colonial times. The elitist and selective nature of the education system was inherited from the colonial period and reflected in strong social and regional inequalities. The latest measures taken to promote universal education in the context of educational liberalisation is a far cry from addressing these trends. Instead, it has heightened them by confirming the existence of second-class schooling for the poorest. In this we can conclude that the education system reflects and crystallizes the social, regional economic and political divisions of present-day Kenya.
• Therefore, this petition calls for all public servants and elected officials including their families to attend public schools and hospitals. As servants of the people mandated by the Kenyan constitution, these institutions can only be improved if these officials have a direct stake in improving public healthcare and education for the benefit of all. This would be a crucial step towards reducing disparities and to achieve equity. It will also drive multi-sectoral approaches to address all key drivers of inequity. Persistent poverty, disparities in living standards and educational achievement and health, as well as regional differences in availability and accessibility of service. As one of the largest employers, having public servants and their families as mandatory use public services would be a crucial step for reform and a step forward in reducing inequalities.

Let's look at the numbers:

• 8.300 The gap between the richest and poorest has reached extreme levels in Kenya. Less than 0.1% of the population (8,300 people) own more wealth than the bottom 99.9% (more than 44 million people). The richest 10% of people in Kenya earned on average 23 times more than the poorest 10%.
• 80% The number of super-rich in Kenya is one of the fastest growing in the world. It is predicted that the number of millionaires will grow by 80% over the next 10 years, with 7,500 new millionaires set to be created
• 1 M Unequal access to opportunities, such as healthcare and education, is rife. Nearly one million primary school-aged children are still out-of-school – the ninth highest number of any country in the world. Kenya's level of spending for education has gradually fallen each year since the early 2000s.
• 2.6 M Despite some improvements in health status over the last decade, the government spends only 6% of its budget on health. A quarter of the Kenyan population regularly lack access to healthcare. A recent study estimated that nearly 2.6 million people fall into poverty or remain poor due to ill health each
  year.