Poverty in Kenya

Poverty in Kenya is indeed a serious and sensitive issue, which requires proper handling both from the economic and philanthropic viewpoints. For the past 30 years and above, poverty in Kenya is increasing constantly, with the poor population concentrating themselves in the rural regions of the country. In fact, there are more than 15 million poor people residing on the mainland of Kenya.

Kenyan poverty comes in sharp contrast with the superior and affluent economic conditions of Eastern Africa, facilitated by highly developed agricultural and diverse industrial activities. Such advanced activities in East Africa generate considerable income from foreign exchanges, leading to the overall prosperity of the nation. Kenya is basically a low-income country, where the average per capita income is around US $360. In fact, it ranks 148th among the 177 countries listed in the human development index of the United Nations Development Program.

More than half of the country’s population, that is about 31.3 millions are poor while another 7.5 millions live under poverty line. Out of every 4 poor people, 3 live in villages and thrive on agricultural activities. Following are some of the reasons which account for the existence of poverty in the country:

• Low productivity rate in the agricultural sector, aggravated by the degradation of the arable lands and insecurity regarding possession of the lands
• Low wages of the farmers and laborers and high unemployment rates
• Difficulty in deriving financial supports for self-employment
• HIV/AIDS is a prevalent disease, more common among the productive young and middle-aged people in Kenya
• Poor higher authorities
• High costs in education and health sectors
• Bad road conditions
• Absence of per capita growth of income on a constant basis, owing to low investments
• Production-related infrastructures like supply of water and network of the rural roads are not properly maintained

In fact, the rise in the poverty level of the country is ultimately responsible for the poor economic conditions of the land. The existence of poverty leads to low demand, which in turn, affects the manufacturing sectors. Owing to low demand, there is no production in this sector, leading to more and more unemployment, which further pushes the country towards extreme poverty.

A number of international organizations have come forward with financial aids, to help the nation in handling the rising trend in poverty. Since 1979, IFAD has been investing money in Kenya, first a total of 115.0 million US$ in 12 loan-financed programs and second, in 3 other grant-financed projects. In fact, these efforts on the part of the government were aimed at bringing down poverty in the rural areas. Other investments include 18.0 million US$ in the form of grants for Belgian Survival Fund Joint Program (BSF.JP). Moreover, IFAD has also arranged for another 68.0 million US$ from other donors to improve the Kenyan poverty situation. In fact, the project beneficiaries to the Government of Kenya have contributed about 56.0 million and 11.0 million US$ respectively for the overall development of the nation.