COVID-19, Livelihoods and Inequality: Poor Female -Headed Families Fare Worse in Kenya and Ethiopia
Date
2022-06
Authors
Makate, Marshall
Makate, Clifton
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected men and women differently in Kenya and
Ethiopia, both at the household level and within the workplace. Like in many
countries,this pandemic is being experienced againstthe backdrop of existing social
and economic disparities. Over the last few decades, there has been tremendous
progress and commitment by the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia in tackling
poverty through crafting policies that promote economic opportunities and encourage
inclusive growth for everyone. However, this progress has not been shared equally
across the board as inequalities in social and economic dimensions persist (Kenya
National Bureau of Statistics, 2020; World Bank, 2020).
The samepolicy strategies aimedatreducingpoverty andincreasingurbanizationand
rural development could increase inequalities. With the emergence of the COVID-19
pandemic, poverty is thought to be on the rise again, with women, children, the
elderly and other vulnerable groups of the population bearing the bigger brunt. The
growing evidence on the impact of the pandemic across countries points to rising
inequality levels, mostly precipitated by the subsequent lockdown measures. While
the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health measures implemented to minimize its
spread have affected every citizen in Kenya and Ethiopia, individuals living in female headed families, with children and those living in rural areas are thought to have
suffered the most. The implementation of containment measures such as lockdowns
and curfews made it difficult for people especially those living in rural areas to move
around make a living. With many of these people relying on mobility, seasonal and
migrantwork, andremittances tomake endsmeet,theCOVID-19pandemicpresented
a huge negative shock to their livelihoods. In other coun¬tries including Kenya and
Ethiopia, there has been a massive return of migrants to rural areas, mostly due to
loss of employmentin urban areas.Disruptions to seasonal migration and remittance
flows to rural areas represents a shortfall in crucial financing lifeline for many poor
people living in rural communities (Ochieng, 2020).