World Poverty Clock, a global poverty tracker, shows that Nakuru is leading counties that are on track to achieving United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goal one which seeks to eliminate extreme poverty.
Kenya defines extreme poor as households and individuals whose monthly adult equivalent total consumption expenditure per person is less than Sh1,954 in rural and peri-urban areas and less than Sh2,551 in core-urban areas.
Nakuru and Siaya counties are ahead of the 14 counties that are on track to eradicating extreme poverty by 2030, World Poverty Clock data shows.
Vienna-based World Poverty Clock, a global poverty tracker, shows that Nakuru is leading counties that are on track to achieving United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goal one which seeks to eliminate extreme poverty.
Kenya defines extreme poor as households and individuals whose monthly adult equivalent total consumption expenditure per person is less than Sh1,954 in rural and peri-urban areas and less than Sh2,551 in core-urban areas.
According to the tracker, six people escape extreme poverty every hour in Nakuru against a set target of 2.5 people per hour. Around 185,819 people live in extreme poverty in the county.
The world tracker approximates that 2.5 people escape poverty in Siaya which is more than double the set target of 1.2 people per hour. Available data shows that 92,218 people in the county are poor.
Nairobi and Nyeri counties have the lowest poverty rates, the poverty clock indicates. The data shows that the two countries have less than three percent of their populations struggling to meet day-to-day needs.
Nyandarua, Kiambu, Laikipia, Elgeyo Marakwet, Tharaka Nithi, Mombasa and Baringo. Others include Taita Taveta, Machakos, Kirinyaga, Meru, Bungoma
Overall, Kenya is off track to achieving SDGs Goal One by 2030, according to the data.
The country’s current one-person-per-minute rate of escape from extreme poverty falls below the target rate of two.
The rural population is the most affected with 7.8 million people living below Sh1,954 per month. About five percent or 1.1 million Kenyans in urban centre survive on less than Sh2,551.
Mandera, Turkana and Wajir counties have the highest number of people wallowing in poverty and the lowest escape rates in the country. Other counties struggling to eliminate destitution include Marsabit, Samburu, Isiolo, Garissa and Kajiado.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa said in 2020 Kenya is underperforming in its poverty reduction efforts with the 2030 aim to end extreme poverty remaining off-target.
Kenya is ranked eighth globally and sixth in Africa among countries with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty.
Poverty elimination has been among the key commitments made by successive regimes since Independence but remains a moving target with increasing population and economic headwinds.
While Kenya has recorded impressive economic growth since 2005, only a handful of rich individuals are reaping the benefits.
The gap between the rich and poor in Kenya is widening with a paltry 0.1 percent of the country’s population or 8,300 people holding the bulk of wealth, limiting equal access to opportunities.
State policies and corporate companies have been blamed in the past for exacerbating inequality in the country. According to London-based Oxfam, Kenya underfunds healthcare and education making them inaccessible to the majority who leave below a dollar a day.
