A Review of Poverty and Antipoverty Initiatives in Kenya
KIPPRA Working Paper No. 3
Abstract
The results from studies on poverty in Kenya show that the poverty situation has deteriorated overtime and especially in the 1990s. The deterioration in living standards in the country is reflected in the rising number of people without food, inadequate access to basic necessities such as education, safe water, sanitation, and health facilities. Most of the poor are in the rural areas and include subsistence farmers and pastoralists.
Poverty in Kenya is caused by a number of factors, which include a high degree of inequality of income and production resources, inequality in the access to economic and social goods and services and in the participation in social and political process. Other causal factors include lack of education, lack of job opportunities, unfavourable climatic conditions, large family sizes, poor government planning and interventions, lack of good governance and weak democratic institutions and practices. A much recent factor leading to increased poverty is HIV/AIDS pandemic. In the rural areas other causes of poverty, include failure to formulate comprehensive land reforms, and the absence of effective social security system for most people. An anti-poverty strategy for rural areas should be based substantially on improving productivity of agricultural activities and better distribution of farm inputs and social and physical infrastructures.
The negative impact of structural adjustment programmes on poverty is through reduction of government expenditure on education and health, cost-sharing and price decontrols resulting in increase in price of basic commodities. But effective and sustained implementation of economic reforms can stimulate economic growth, generate employment and reduce concentration of economic activities and as a result alleviate poverty.
Rapid economic growth is regarded as a key solution not only to poverty but also to unemployment, poor health and economic exploitation. However, this strategy has not been successful in reducing poverty in Kenya, partly due to very low growth rates achieved over the years. Nevertheless, some growth strategies are more effective than others in reducing poverty. The government should take steps to foster pro-poor growth. A key sector identified for pro-poor growth is the rural farming sector.
Other strategies include the basic needs approach to development focussing mainly on the provision of basic needs such as food, water, shelter and health care for the poor; settlement schemes and land redistribution. However, a major part of the anti-poverty policy should involve enhancement of productivity of land already owned, rented or worked on by the rural poor. The others initiatives include district focus for rural development, development of the informal sector, geographical and sectoral targeting of the poor, and rural credit especially micro financing.
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