Poverty eradication interventions in Kenya

A Mirage or an achievable dream

Abstract

The government of Kenya has since independence made great strides to eradicate poverty through its fight against disease, poverty and ignorance. Different development plans, sessional papers and high level forums have spelt out different strategies to address poverty, but they have not been translated into implementable effective policies and approaches that can overcome poverty situations in the country. Government and non-government agencies have mobilized and used huge amounts of resources in various development projects but the level of poverty has continued to rise to a level where currently 45% of the population live below the poverty line. This happens as the world struggles to achieve sustainable development goal No. 1, eradication of poverty. Poor economic performance has led to increase in poverty as most Kenyans lack food, access to decent housing and clean and safe drinking water among other services. Government subsidy on the cost of education has not saved the situation either because schools charge illegal and or unaffordable levies that cause children to drop out of school. Government’s intervention to improve the agriculture sector by providing subsidized farm inputs has not yielded significant results because of different challenges. Efforts by most development agencies have not transformed the lives of Kenyans as they have at best been counterproductive and a frustration. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the efforts the government has made to reduce poverty and the socioeconomic and environmental factors that frustrate these efforts and make suggestions as to how this stalemate can be addressed. The study will achieve this by reviewing existing literature on poverty and environmental degradation and based on the findings draw conclusions and make recommendations on effective and best practices for achieving sustainable development.