1996年-世界发展银行全球_Assessing_Poverty_in_Kenya_5页_585kb

Kenya Poverty Assessment Summary (1995)

Core Content

The Kenya Poverty Assessment (1995) is a comprehensive report analyzing poverty trends and social indicators in Kenya, focusing on the period from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. It highlights the challenges faced by the poor, especially in rural areas, and offers policy recommendations for poverty reduction and social development.

Main Findings

• Poverty Prevalence: In 1992, approximately 9 million rural people (about half of the rural population) were below the poverty line, while around 1.5 million urban residents (30% of the population) were also poor. The proportion of the rural poor remained unchanged since 1982.
• Social Indicators: While Kenya made some progress in social indicators during the early 1980s, many indicators stagnated in the early 1990s. There were persistent disparities between rural and urban areas and between the poor and non-poor.
• Rural and Urban Poor: The rural poor are mainly subsistence farmers and informal sector workers, whereas the urban poor are often unemployed or in the informal sector. Female-headed households are more vulnerable, with 44% classified as "very poor" compared to 21% of male-headed households.
• Land Ownership and Access: Land is a critical asset. Most people prefer to give land to their sons, and women, especially widows, face uncertainty in land ownership. This leads to migration to urban slums and continued poverty.
• Education and Health Disparities: Poor children have lower schooling, higher malnutrition rates, and lower immunization rates. Girls from poor rural households rarely attend secondary school. Preventive health spending increased, but curative spending remained skewed towards hospitals rather than health centers.
• Infrastructure and Investment: Agricultural infrastructure, such as water supply and roads, was poorly maintained. The slow growth in employment opportunities and real wages, along with low investment, contributed to income stagnation.

Key Policy Recommendations

1. Economic Growth Strategy

• Sustained Per Capita Income Growth: Should be the top priority. The manufacturing sector, especially with an export-oriented approach, has the potential for rapid growth.
• Policy Reforms: Continue import and exchange rate liberalization, and export promotion. Sustain macroeconomic stability to support growth.

2. Rural Development

• Agricultural Productivity: Improve smallholder yields in less well-endowed areas through better research and extension services.
• Dairy and Seed Industries: Liberalize these industries to boost productivity.
• Road Infrastructure: Implement the Roads 2000 strategy to maintain rural roads, which is critical for rural development and poverty alleviation.
• Land Reforms: Remove subsidies for large farms to encourage land subdivision and sale to small peasants, increasing land efficiency and employment.

3. Education Reforms

• Targeted Subsidies: Introduce a system of bursaries for poor students, especially girls, to reduce private education costs.
• Secondary Education: Conduct a study to address high costs and low enrollment, and strengthen existing bursary systems with a focus on girls.

4. Health Sector Improvements

• Preventive Health Spending: Increase the share of preventive health expenditures in the public budget.
• Targeted Immunization: Expand child immunization programs to poorer districts and families.
• Health Facility Allocation: Shift curative spending towards health centers rather than hospitals, as the poor use health centers more frequently.
• Cost Recovery: Ensure cost recovery at health centers is paired with public investment in facilities used by the poor.

5. Social Initiatives

• Rural Water Fund: Establish a pilot fund to finance small water schemes in communities and NGOs.
• Micro-Credit Expansion: Expand micro-credit schemes with a stronger focus on women and women’s groups.
• Urban Slum Support: Increase water kiosks in urban slums and support community-based waste-removal and sanitation initiatives.
• Arid Areas Development: Improve road infrastructure selectively and test community-based income-earning schemes.

Conclusion

The report emphasizes that broad-based economic growth and targeted social service provision are mutually reinforcing strategies for reducing poverty in Kenya. Without both, progress in poverty alleviation will be limited. The focus should be on improving rural development, enhancing access to education and health services for the poor, and reforming land and agricultural policies to promote equitable growth.