Shame as a third of Kenyans go hungry

Ipsos Synovate lead researcher Dr Tom Wolf addressing a media briefing on the latest social, political, economic and cultural barometer survey on September 19, 2014. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE

What you need to know:

  • High cost of living, insecurity and unemployment were cited in that order as the most serious problems facing the country.
  • About 36 per cent of those interviewed responded in the affirmative when asked if they or any member of their household had recently gone to sleep on an empty stomach.

One in every three Kenyan households has someone who sometimes “goes to sleep hungry” because they cannot afford a meal, a new study has revealed.

Most Kenyans also feel that things are generally going wrong, a finding which should get Jubilee strategists thinking about how to get their positive message out more and to ensure it is believed.

The report, which was released on Friday by Ipsos, showed that even salaried Kenyans were feeling the pinch as the cost of living rises and incomes stagnate.

The report shows that 43 per cent of Kenyans earn less than Sh10,000 while 31 per cent earn less than Sh25,000.

Only four per cent earn more than Sh40,000.

With 93 per cent of Kenyan adults earning Sh40,000 and below, the report confirmed a recent analysis by Standard Bank that estimated the number of low-income households in Kenya at 92 per cent.

High cost of living, insecurity and unemployment were cited in that order as the most serious problems facing the country.

A sample of 2,059 adults was interviewed in the 47 counties between August 24 and September 1, with an error margin of two at 95 per cent degree of confidence.

About 36 per cent of those interviewed responded in the affirmative when asked if they or any member of their household had recently gone to sleep on an empty stomach.

A similar trend was observed when the population was divided between urban and rural areas, with 34 per cent of urban residents and 37 per cent in rural areas saying they had at one time or another gone to bed hungry.

More women (38 per cent) than men (34) also reported going to bed hungry due to financial difficulties.

The sample was framed in accordance with the demographic profile obtained from the 2009 Population Census and was therefore considered a reliable representation of the 19.4 million adults recorded in the census.

ECONOMIC HARDSHIP

Majority of residents in Nyanza (59 per cent), Coast (57) and western (57) regions reported that they had skipped an evening meal due to economic hardship.

Coast and Nyanza regions also recorded the highest number of people (86 per cent each) who felt that things had increasingly worsened since the Jubilee administration came to power.

Central region recorded the most positive feedback, with 58 per cent of respondents saying things were going in the right direction and only one in 10 reported occasionally going to bed hungry.

“Among those who are poor, that is, households earning less than Sh10,000, almost half of them say someone in their house sometimes sleeps hungry. This means people have more urgent financial obligations on their incomes,” Ipsos lead researcher Tom Wolf explained.

Though corruption and poor leadership have in the past been cited as major drawbacks in the state of the nation, the two factors failed to make the top-three slots, with only about 10 per cent of Kenyans citing them as serious problems.

The majority of Kenyans (59 per cent) also feel their personal economic conditions have worsened in the past three months while only 19 per cent see an improvement.

The report, which is Ipsos Kenya’s third quarter Social, Political, Economic and Cultural (SPEC) Barometer survey, categorised the results according to whether respondents were affiliated to Jubilee or Cord coalitions.

A large majority of Cord supporters (80 per cent) said they believed things are generally going wrong. “The fact that different ethnic groups in Kenya live in different parts of the country helps us to understand why issue-based politics cannot be separated from ethnic divisions in politics,” said Mr Wolf.

Jubilee supporters seemed divided, with 43 per cent saying things were going in the right direction while 40 per cent said things were going south, and 17 per cent sitting on the fence.

Despite 43 per cent of Jubilee supporters feeling things were generally going in the right direction at the national level, 28 per cent said their personal and family economic condition had worsened in the last three months.