Impact of NGO sustainability strategies on humanitarian aid in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya

The protracted situation at Kakuma Refugee Camp, with over 200,000 displaced individuals from various regions, stresses the need for a sustainable humanitarian framework for long-term resilience amid severe resource and social tensions. This study evaluates the sustainability strategies implemented by non-governmental organizations—namely, capacity building, accountability, and transparency; monitoring and evaluation; community participation; humanitarian relief services; and psychosocial support—in the aid delivery system within Kakuma. The research is grounded in two theoretical frameworks: The Theory of Resilience and Resource Dependency Theory. The study employed a concurrent mixed-methods design. The target population comprised 40,316 refugee household heads, 63 host community leaders, 28 NGO officers, 15 government representatives, and 50 leaders from the United Refugee and Host Churches. Sampling methods used were stratified simple random sampling for 384 refugee household heads; purposive sampling to identify 19 host community leaders and five government representatives; and a census for the 28 NGO officers and 50 URHC leaders. Quantitative data were processed using the SPSS program version 25. Key Information Interviews and Focus Groups Discussion data were dealt with thematically, following the six-step qualitative research process: going through the data, coding, generating themes, reviewing themes, defining them, and reporting them. Findings showed that there was high engagement in activities like capacity building (75.9%) and community participation (74.8%) for the development of self-reliance and ownership of aid, whereas steerage and sustainability were enhanced through accountability (72.4%) and relief services (70.3%). Adaptive management and well-being were improved through monitoring and evaluation (68.7%) and psycho-social support (67.9%) but faced limitations such as limited outreach (20.7% unaware) and funding gaps (52.3% inconsistent reporting). From the viewpoint of resilience theory and resource dependency theory, the outcomes point to the fact that while these strategies build adaptive capacities and therefore strengthen humanitarian aid architecture, structural impediments such as donor dependency and gaps in inclusivity confine the outcomes equitably. The study emphasizes the need for enhanced community-led approaches, diversifying funding sources, and developing gender-sensitive and environmentally friendly interventions to achieve equitable and sustainable aid in Kakuma and similar settings or long-term phases.