Analysis of energy poverty in Kenya and its implications for human health

Limited access to modern energy is a pressing issue and has necessitated scholarly discourse on energy poverty, especially in developing countries. This paper investigated energy poverty in Kenya and its implications on human health using the multidimensional energy poverty framework, propensity sco...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy policy 2023-05, Vol.176, p.113506, Article 113506
Main Authors: Ang'u, Cohen, Muthama, Nzioka John, Mutuku, Mwanthi Alexander, M’IKiugu, Mutembei Henry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Energy poverty
Health impacts
Household
Kenya
Multidimensional
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Limited access to modern energy is a pressing issue and has necessitated scholarly discourse on energy poverty, especially in developing countries. This paper investigated energy poverty in Kenya and its implications on human health using the multidimensional energy poverty framework, propensity score matching and marginal structural models. The results indicate that energy poverty is relatively high in the North Eastern parts of Kenya, with multidimensional energy poverty (MEP) index of 0.62. In this region, 87.5% of households were classified as acute energy poor. Rift valley, Western, Nyanza, Eastern, Coast and Central had MEP values of 0.56, 0.55, 0.54, 0.52, 0.50 and 0.43, respectively. Nairobi region recorded the least MEP at 0.21, with 72.9% of households classified in the low energy poor category. The MEP index for rural areas was high compared to urban areas. This study confirmed a strong, statistically significant impact of energy poverty on human health. Causal relative risk and causal risk differences of 1.883 and 1.403, respectively, were observed between energy poverty and health. There is a need for deliberate policy action to ensure the availability of modern energy at affordable prices. There is also an urgent need of mainstreaming health in energy policies. •Kenya's seven out of 8 regions suffer from moderate energy poverty.•Approximately 90% of rural households in Kenya are energy poor.•Recent efforts have not alleviated energy poverty in Kenya's rural areas.•Energy poverty is affected by socio-economic status and demographics.•Energy poverty significantly affects human health.
ISSN:0301-4215
1873-6777
DOI:10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113506