Poverty is increasing in Kenya and the Covid-19 emergency is certainly not helping.
A report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates a worrying downward curve in the economic condition of more than half the population.
The Comprehensive Poverty Report of 2020, the first credible attempt to measure the degree of (non) well-being in Kenya, reports that 23.4 million out of 44.2 (53%) of the 44.2 million citizens in Kenya are economically poor by world standards, in a multidimensional way, i.e. living below the threshold of basic needs that are, food, health, education, child protection, information, water, sanitation and housing. An individual is considered "multidimensionally" poor if he or she lacks at least 3 of these seven basic items.
Of this majority, 15.9 million (36%) do not have enough money to face everyday life in a barely decent way and live below the threshold of human tolerance.
Suffice it to say that on average, an adult Kenyan living in the rural areas of the country earns about 3250 shillings (less than 30 euros) per month, while those living in urban areas reach 6000 (about 50 euros), often being a head of the family and therefore having to feed a nucleus of 3-5 elements on average with that profit.
The report found that children make up the largest share of the multidimensional poor (48%), followed by young people (25%). The elderly make up the smallest percentage of the multidimensional poor with only 6%.
Geographical disparities in poverty indicate that there are inequalities in the accessibility and availability of services.
The incidence of multidimensional poverty in rural areas (67 per cent) is more than double that of urban areas (27 per cent).
The report reveals that inequalities in financial well-being and the satisfaction of basic needs and rights are growing in different counties.
More than a quarter of the poor population in monetary and multidimensional terms (2.8% out of 11.8 million) live in Turkana, Kakamega, Kilifi, Mandera and Kitui counties. Isiolo, Lamu and Nyeri counties together account for only 0.9 per cent of the most vulnerable.
The other interesting finding is that boys are more likely to be multidimensionally poor than girls, but the difference is only 3 percentage points.