Leaving No Women Behind: Evaluating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Livelihood Outcomes and Inequities in Access to Health Services and Necessities in Kenya and Ethiopia
Date
2022-10
Authors
Makate, Marshall
Makate, Clifton
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has revolutionized the way we live and has brought about the
twin crises of sickness and the need for an optimal mix of policies crafted to alleviate
its impact on the population. There is little evidence on the impact of the pandemic
on livelihood outcomes and inequities in access to health services and necessities
and on whether female-headed families fare worse compared to their male-headed
counterparts in Kenya and Ethiopia. We use data from high frequency phone surveys
conducted in Kenya and Ethiopia to examine the aggregate impact of the pandemic
on incomes, consumption patterns, food insecurity, and inequities in access to health
services and necessities. Overall, the pandemic resulted in dramatic increases in food
insecurity, reduced incomes and consumption, and increased inequities in access
to health and necessities, especially for women living in female-led households. For
example, living in a female-headed household was associated with an approximate
10% increase in the probability that an adult would go hungry, 9.88% increase in the
likelihood of skipping a meal, and 17% increase in the prospect that a child would skip
a meal in the seven days leading to the phone survey in Kenya. In Ethiopia, living in a
female-headed household was associated with an approximate 24.35% increase in the
probability that an adult would go hungry, 18.89% chance that an adult would skip
a meal, and 26.67% probability of running out of food. Families with children and of
low socioeconomic status prior to the pandemic experienced even worse outcomes.
Inequities in access to health services were mostly pro-rich and appeared to be larger
among female-headed families even though the difference between groups did not
appear to be statistically significant in Kenya. Additionally, female-headed families
from low socioeconomic positions had greater difficulty accessing necessities during
the pandemic in both countries. These findings are mostly explained by the decreases
in incomes due to COVID-19 alongside the pre-existing differences in socioeconomic
status among the population. These results have important implications to public
policy and planning for future pandemics in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Description
Keywords
COVID-19; Livelihoods; Food insecurity; Inequity; Health and necessities; Kenya; Ethiopia.