Women at high risk of poverty in rural Africa

Families and poverty

Married, divorced or widowed women in Niger are more likely to be health-poor than (unmarried) women living with their parents. Additionally, women in polygamous families are more likely to be money and health poor, compared to women in monogamous relationships.

As the number of children under five increases so does the probability of being poor for Kenyan households. The research team suggests this may because adults, women in particular, will spend more time looking after the children and less time on wage work, lowering the family’s income and consumption.

Reducing poverty

The studies from Kenya and Niger agree that to reduce (female) rural poverty, community-level policies are needed. Improving access to electricity, sanitation facilities and clean water are highlighted as key infrastructure developments that can help reduce asset and health poverty. 

A number of PEP studies have investigated poverty reduction policies, particularly relating to female entrepreneurship and to education. Women in Kenya who have completed secondary or post-secondary education are much less likely to be poor than those who have no education or only primary education. Similarly, findings from a PEP project in Cameroon suggest that if women’s average education level was brought up to that of men, the average income for women would increase by 12%. Meanwhile, findings from Ethiopia indicate that by supporting female-owned micro and small enterprises, the government can reduce overall poverty in the country. 

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