The Kenya Coast in National Perspective

This review provides a concise description of the process of regional development and the concomitant growing regional inequalities in Kenya. By focusing on Coast Province, it aims to verify statements which stress that the province has gradually moved to a marginal position in Kenyan society. Examining the post World War II period, findings indicate that a successful rooting of (smallholder) marketed production took place elsewhere in Kenya but such a development largely bypassed Coast Province. In the second section statistical sources are analysed which permit insight into the regional distribution of important welfare indicators such as education, health, water supplies and especially food security at household level.

 

The overall conclusion is that large disparities have grown between provinces. Most serious poverty is located in the west of the country, in Western and Nyanza Provinces in particular. Average incomes at the Coast are not the lowest in the country. Also with regard to 'food poverty', the relative position of coastal households is not unfavourable compared to other regions in Kenya. Nevertheless, reviewing other basic household welfare indicators including child nutrition, child mortality, educational participation, health facilities and access to safe water leads to the conclusion that the Coast indeed finds itself in a disadvantaged situation.