23.4 million Kenyans are poor - Survey

NAIROBI, Kenya

More than half of Kenyans live in poverty, according to a new measurement that goes beyond the lack of money. 

ASALS POVERTY: A woman fetches dirty water from a shallow well in Kerio, Turkana Central

The multidimensional poverty index raises Kenya's poverty rate to 53 per cent, compared to 36.1 per cent when looking at money only.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director, Zachary Mwangi on Monday said the multidimensional index looks beyond income to include access to safe water, education, electricity, food and six other indicators.

"A person is considered multidimensional poor if she/he is deprived in three or more dimensions," he said. 

The new index shows 23.4 million Kenyans are multidimensional poor, compared to 15.9 million if one were looking at income only. 

The index is contained in the new Comprehensive Poverty Report, produced by KNBS, Unicef and UN Women.

This is the first attempt in Kenya to measure poverty in a comprehensive manner using data from the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) 2015-16.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani who launched the report on Monday said among children under five years, deprivation in housing, nutrition and sanitation were the three largest contributors to multidimensional poverty.

"Among children aged five-17 years, deprivation in nutrition, housing and sanitation were the three largest contributors to multidimensional poverty," he said. 

The new index is one of the many ways to measure poverty and was developed by Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative, and used for the first time in the 2010 by the UNDP Human Development Report.

While measuring income only, one is considered poor if they live in a household with monthly expenditure below Sh 5,995 for urban and Sh 3,252 for rural dwellers.

Yatani said lack of education, housing and economic activity were the largest contributors to poverty among adult women and men in Kenya.

He said the data will help Kenya assess its progress in achieving SDG target 1.2, which commits nations to reduce by half the proportion of women, men and children living in poverty in all its dimensions.

"This report provides the baseline against which to evaluate our progress towards this goal," he said. The CS also launched the Women Empowerment Report, based on 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.

The CS also launched the Women Empowerment Report, based on 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.

It shows only 29 per cent of Kenyan women are considered empowered. 

He further launched 47 County Poverty Briefs, which are summaries of the comprehensive poverty report, and 47 County Budget Briefs, which analyse social sectors’ budgets focusing on health, education, child protection, youth and women services, water and sanitation, and nutrition.

The two counties reports were produced by Nairobi-based state think-tank Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research & Analysis. – The Star