| dc.description.abstract | It is argued that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. However, most of the SubSaharan
African (SSA) countries experience adverse health outcomes coupled with
relatively high levels of poverty. The causality between poverty and health has been
found to run both ways. Various studies show that poverty is linked to health status
and vice versa. Studies investigating the linkage between poverty and ill-health are
however few in Kenya with mixed findings.
This study investigates the linkage between poverty and ill-health in Kenya using
child mortality as a proxy indicator of health and household wealth index as a proxy
for poverty. We use data from KDHS 2008-09 and two-stage least squares
instrumental variable methods in estimating the link between poverty and health
(child mortality). The results show that poverty (wealth index), residence type,
mothers education, access to water, access to sanitation and source of cooking fuel
and gender of household head have significant effect on child mortality rates in
Kenya.
This study recommends policies and programs such as economic empowerment and
maternal education aimed at reducing poverty and child mortality rates especially in
rural areas to be designed and implemented. In addition, the government should
promote public awareness on the importance of sanitation and intensify promotion of
basic health education in learning institutions. Most importantly, the government and
other development agencies should ensure that there is an increased supply of clean
water and promote the use low polluting fuels in rural areas. | en_US |
