User:Jaustin3/Poverty in Kenya

Economic condition and poverty[edit]
Kenya has kept the leading economic position in the East African region with the gross domestic product at 74.84 billion US dollars in 2017. The Kenyan economy mainly relies on agriculture, livestock keeping and tourism.Although only less than 20% of the land is suitable for cultivation, the agriculture industry still takes the dominant position in Kenya's economy. More than 75 percent of the population in Kenya makes a living from agriculture. However, an extensively distributed arid desert, unpredictable weather changes and outdated technology makes the agricultural sector quite erratic. In Kenya, 80% of the territory is classified into arid and semi-arid lands, where there is highly variable rainfall and frequent droughts. More than a quarter of the population and half of livestock live in these areas. In times of serious drought, the government has to spend an average of 50 dollars per family in relief supplies.

There was a severe drought in Kenya that began in October 2016, due to low rainfall and extremely high temperatures. In April 2017, the drought escalated and was declared a national emergency by the Kenyan government. The drought gave rise to a slump in production of the staple crop (maize) and more than 2 million people were in need of food aid.

Droughts reduce crop and livestock production, cause great financial losses in agriculture and increase unemployment rates. Besides, decline in food production forces the government to provide food assistance, incurring extra expenditures in the national budget. All these situations trigger more severe poverty issues in Kenya.

Health problems and poverty[edit]
Addressing health problems remains a challenge for Kenya's government. Diseases that spread in the society reduce productivity and increases the health care expenditure of government, which worsens the poverty in Kenya. According to the data from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, diseases including pneumonia, HIV and malaria are the main causes of mortality, which brings about 11.5%, 16.1% and 11.5% of deaths in the total register deaths respectively. In particular, Kenya is ranked 4th among countries with the highest HIV infections in the world with 1.6 million people infected with HIV.

People with poor health condition decrease household incomes and increase medical expenditure, which may cause households to fall into poverty. HIV and malaria are especially prevalent in marginal areas, such as the Western and Nyanza Provinces. More than three-fifths of households in Kenya fall into poverty due to these diseases. Furthermore, decreasing available workforces and increasing government expenditures further strains the economy and worsens poverty.