Over the past 30 years, poverty has been on the rise in Kenya. Poverty seems to be a paradox in a country that has the best-developed economy in eastern Africa, with relatively advanced agricultural and industrial sectors and substantial foreign exchange earnings from agricultural exports and tourism. Yet Kenya is a low-income country, with per capita income averaging about US$360. It ranks 148th among 177 countries in the United Nations Development Programme's human development index, which measures a country's development in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment and standard of living.
More than half of the country's 31.3 million people are poor, and 7.5 million of the poor live in extreme poverty. About 80 per cent of the population, including three out of four poor people, live in rural zones. Most Kenyans live in areas having a medium to high potential for agriculture, which comprise about 18 per cent of the country's territory. Population density in high-potential areas is more than six times the country's average of 55 persons per km2. While the poorest of the poor are found in the sparsely populated arid zones of the country, mainly in the north, over 80 per cent of rural poor people live in higher-potential areas surrounding Lake Victoria and in the Mount Kenya region.
Since 1979, IFAD has invested a total of US$115.0 million in 12 loan-financed projects/programmes and three grant-financed programmes supporting the Government's efforts to reduce rural poverty. Investments include US$18.0 million in grants under the Belgian Survival Fund Joint Programme (BSF.JP). IFAD has also mobilized additional cofinancing of about US$68.0 million from other donors. The Government of Kenya and project beneficiaries have contributed about US$56.0 million and US$11.0 million respectively.
A growing population and rising poverty levels
Kenya's population has tripled over the past 30 years, leading to increasing pressure on natural resources, a widening income gap and rising poverty levels that erode gains in education, health, food security, employment and incomes. The causes of rural poverty include: ? low agricultural productivity, exacerbated by land degradation and insecure land tenure ? unemployment and low wages ? difficulty in accessing financing for self-employment ? poor governance ? bad roads ? high costs of health and education ? HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is most prevalent among young and middle-aged Kenyans, the most productive segment of the population. Almost half of the people in Kenya are under 15 years of age. An estimated 700 Kenyans die daily of HIV/AIDS-related causes. HIV/AIDS leaves orphans and woman-headed households even more vulnerable to poverty. The burden of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and water-borne diseases weighs heavily on both the country and Kenyan families, affecting income, food security and development potential. Life expectancy is down to 46 years, from 59 years in 1989.
Kenya's rural poor people include: ? small farmers ? herders ? farm labourers ? unskilled and semi-skilled workers ? households headed by women ? people with disabilities ? AIDS orphans
Women are particularly vulnerable because they do not have equal access to social and economic assets. For about 70 per cent of women, subsistence farming is the primary -- and often the only -- source of livelihood.
Source: IFAD http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/ken/index.htm