Cessation
of movement/migration as a Social impact of COVID- 19
The
economic consequences of the pandemic are likely to have a far greater impact
on the long-term health, wellbeing and poverty levels of the population as a
whole than the predicted fatalities caused directly by the disease. Sectors
worst hit by the virus include the labour force, housing, transport, health,
trade and tourism. The supply and demand for goods and services in these
sectors have been significantly hampered. Furthermore, the restriction of
movement in and out the country has dwindled the revenues from the tourism and
aviation sectors, while delays at borders due to testing of truck drivers have
resulted in losses of profits to business owners..
Kenya is
a country with very high rates of food poverty, which also increasingly imports
food from neighbouring countries. As a result, confinement measures such as
closure of open markets and slowdown at border points will impact not only
lives but also livelihoods and food security.
In most
areas of the country – particularly Nairobi and Mombasa, which have been hit
the hardest by Covid-19 – people are concerned about having enough money to buy the food they need due to
reduced earnings. According to a recent GeoPoll study, 86% of Kenyans are
worried about not having enough to eat.
Changes in food-purchasing habits
present an imminent threat to food security in Kenya. This is particularly the
case for households living below the poverty line, who have resorted to
purchasing only essential foodstuffs during the pandemic.
Measures imposed by the
government of Kenya to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 are resulting in job
losses, both for casual workers in informal sector and daily-wage earners in
the formal sector, both of which employ a high proportion of women.
Due to curfews and limited movement of people, many roles
have become redundant, resulting in job losses or unpaid leave. Workers who
already live in poverty and cannot afford to have precautionary savings
consequently face a high risk of falling into poverty and might experience even
greater challenges in regaining their livelihoods after the pandemic.
A survey conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of
Statistics (KNBS) in May 2020 indicates that the labour participation rate in
the country has fallen significantly as a result of the pandemic. Data
from World Bank shows that in 2019 Kenya had a labou-force participation rate
of 75%; this rate fell to just 56.8% in April 2020. According to the KNBS
survey, the percentage of the population in active employment, whether informal
or formal, has fallen to 65.3% of men and 48.8% of women .
The reduction has been caused by job losses in both the
informal and formal sectors. The virus has disrupted the flow of revenues and
limited the supply and demand for goods and services, pushing employers to use
different coping mechanisms to stay afloat. Employers have been forced to
downsize the workforce, give unpaid leave or make temporary layoffs.
Measures
taken by the government to slow the spread of infection have resulted in
increased costs for both transport operators and passengers. The government
through the Ministry of Transport has instituted a range of measures for public
transportation. These include reduction of passenger numbers by half; the
requirement for passengers and vehicle operators to wear a mask at all times
while on public transport; and provision of hand washing and sanitizing
facilities at the point of boarding.
These
measures have not only increased the cost incurred by vehicle operators but
also reduced the number of passengers using public transport due to the rise in
fares charged by operators to offset higher costs.
According
to the KNBS survey conducted in May 2020, there has been a 51.7% increase in
the cost of transport nationally. The increase varies with proximity to the
places that have reported a high number of Covid-19 cases and urban centers
where there is frequent use of public transport.
Due to
the high cost of transport, Kenyans – particularly people living in poverty and
the vulnerable – who have previously depended on public transport have resorted
to other modes of travel such as walking and use of bicycles or motorbikes.
According to the KNBS survey, 32.2% of Kenyans had resorted to walking to
offset the high cost of public transportation.
