Socio-economic Determinants of Poverty in Malaria Endemic Areas of Kenya

Abstract

Background: Poverty is a major issue in Kenya and even though there has been a remarkable economic growth, it has still not led to a significant poverty reduction in the country. Objective: This study examined the factors associated with poverty in malaria endemic areas of Kenya. Using various well-being indicators, we calculated a composite index of household wealth to measure poverty/deprivation levels. Methods: Data from the 2015 Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey (KMIS) was used. Generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS) was used to estimate our model. Unlike the conventional estimation techniques, GAMLSS allow modelling not only of the mean (or location) but other parameters of the distribution of the response variable as linear and/or non-linear, parametric and/or additive nonparametric functions of explanatory variables and/or random effects. Results: Our results show that households with more educated and male household heads were wealthier than those headed by females and with less education. The study further indicated that urban residences were wealthier than rural residents in all provinces, however, household with a negative diagnosis for malaria are wealthier than those with positive outcomes in both urban and rural areas. Conclusion: The positive relationship between malaria occurrence and poverty implies that poverty alleviation and malaria eradication should be simultaneously targeted in Kenya.