A correlation study on the effect of Non-conditional cash transfer on poverty Alleviation among older persons in Emuhaya sub- county, Kenya

Abstract

The world is experiencing growth in the number of older persons with those aged 60 years and above projected to double from 1.4 billion in 2015 to 2.8 billion in 2050. According to the Kenya Population and Housing Census, there were 1.3 million people who were above 65 years of age in 2009 with a declining mortality rate from 11/1000 in 2007 to 8.93/1000 in 2011 an indication that the number of those aging in Kenya is expected to increase significantly by 2030. In Vihiga County, the population of older persons aged 65 years and above stood at 33,475 by 2013. The growing numbers of older persons in Kenya have increased social, economic and political pressure necessitating introduction of various social protection programs which include non-conditional cash transfer initiatives. Although several studies show that cash transfer programs have a positive effect on access to food, healthcare and shelter, the studies focused on conditional cash transfers creating uncertainty on the effect of non-conditional cash transfers such as Older Persons Cash Transfer (OPCT) on poverty alleviation. This study investigated the effect of non-conditional cash transfer on poverty alleviation among older persons in Emuhaya Sub-County, Kenya. Specifically, the study determined the effect of OPCT on access to food among older persons in Emuhaya Sub-County, Kenya. It also established the effect of OPCT on access to health care among older persons as well as effect of OPCT on quality of shelter among older persons. Case study research design was employed with a target population comprising of 1067 OPCT beneficiaries with a sample size of 290 obtained using Yamane formula which was obtained by simple random sampling and the participants were stratified based on the wards. Descriptive and inferential data analysis techniques were employed to define the participants' characteristics and established the effect of non-conditional cash transfers on poverty alleviation. The study established that there exists a positive correlation between OPCT and access to food with r=0.281 and p- value=0.00. The study also established that there exists a positive correlation between OPCT and access to health care with r=0.120 and p-value=0.004. The study also found a positive correlation between OPCT and access to a quality shelter with r=0.162 and p-value=0.000. The odds ratio predicted by the model for improved access to food, health care and quality was 1.534, 2.388 and 1.793 respectively. The study concluded that OPCT alleviates poverty. The recommendation for the study was that a large sample size should be considered to access poverty alleviation among the older persons on the OPCT program. Secondly since household size differ, this affects the quantity of food from the household and therefore the cash provided should put this in mind to ensure that the household have improved food access. Lastly, improved access to health care had a weak correlation with cash transfer and in order to strengthen the correlation the government should pay NHIF for all beneficiaries and not a sample.