East Africa
Poverty has always been a part of life in East Africa. In the poorest countries, the average person only makes $83 a year (that’s not very much).
When people don’t have a lot of money, they can’t afford to send their kids to school or buy them the medicine they need. A lot of kids die, especially in rural areas, because they get sick and can’t go to the hospital.
Climate and Poverty
Even the weather here can add to poverty. In Kenya, and in a few nearby countries, there was recently a long stretch of time without any rain. This is called a drought.
Without rain, people can’t grow food, so a lot of people were hungry for a very long time. Some even died of hunger. Many cows dies, so people couldn’t survive on their meat and milk like usual.
When people are hungry like this, a lot of kids have to drop out of school to help their families. Some children have to walk long distances to find grass for their family’s cattle to eat.
Many cows
died in the 2005 drought
East Africa Poverty Facts
- In some places in Kenya and Tanzania, almost three-quarters of cows died in the 2005 drought.
- More than half the people in Kenya are living in poverty.
- About one in 10 Kenyan children will die before their fifth birthday.