Assessing equity and the determinants of socio-economic impacts of COVID-19: Results from a cross-sectional survey in three counties in Kenya

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 mitigation measures have major ramifications on all aspects of people’s livelihoods. Based on data collected in February 2021, we present an analysis of the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures in three counties in Kenya. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional phone-based survey in three counties in Kenya to assess the level of disruption across seven domains: income, food insecurity, schooling, domestic tension/violence, communal violence, mental health, and decision-making. An overall disruption index was computed from the seven domains using principal component analysis. We used a linear regression model to examine the determinants of vulnerability to disruptions as measured by the index. We used concentration curves and indices to assess inequality in the disruption domains and the overall disruption index. Results: The level of disruption in income was the highest (74%), while the level of disruption for domestic tension/violence was the lowest (30%). Factors associated with increased vulnerability to the overall disruption index included: older age, being married, belonging in the lowest socio-economic tertile and receiving COVID-19 related assistance. The concentration curves showed that all the seven domains of disruption were disproportionately concentrated among households in the lowest socio-economic tertile, a finding that was supported by the concentration index of the overall disruption index (CI = - 0.022; p = 0.074). Conclusion: The COVID-19 mitigation measures resulted in unintended socio-economic effects that unfairly affected certain vulnerable groups such as those in the lowest socio-economic group and the elderly. Measures to protect households against the adverse socio-economic effects of the pandemic should be scaled up and targeted to the most vulnerable, with attention to the constantly evolving nature of the pandemic.

Widening inequities in clean cooking fuel use and food security: compounding effects of COVID-19 restrictions and VAT on LPG in a Kenyan informal urban settlement

“…Consistent with other studies [33], we also find that older study participants were more prone to food insecurity due to COVID-19 restrictions (supplementary figure 6), which may be due to greater difficulty completing agricultural labor, or having greater dependence on others for food, among other concerns [34,35]. As older Kenyans living in informal settlements were found to be at greater risk of food insecurity prior to the pandemic [36], rates of food insecurity between younger and older Kenyans may have been exacerbated by COVID-19 restrictions.…”

Assessing the Changes in Consumption Patterns of Households Due to COVID-19 Measures in Kenya

“…This showed an average positive significant difference in snack shopping frequency before and after the pandemic (t 194 = -6.504, p < 0.001). The study discovered a positive average significant difference in frozen food shopping frequency before and after the COVID-19 pandemic (t 72 = 3.734, p < 0.001), indicating a 0.205-unit increase in shopping frequency [18,19].…”

Parental experiences of the impacts of Covid-19 on the care of young children; qualitative interview findings from the Nairobi Early Childcare in Slums (NECS) project

“…Considering the cross-cutting economic impacts, Oyando et al [19] found, through telephone surveys, that people reported, economic and social disruption across three counties in PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH Kenya, with especially pronounced effects on income, and amongst the poorest. However, these were only reported generally, without any detail on how these economic disruptions affected peoples' day to day lives, and especially those of families with young children.…”