Socio-Economic Status of 
Vihiga County with COVID-19
Eldah Onsomu, Rose Ngugi, Evelyne Kihiu, Mutuku
Muleli, James Gachanja, Rogers Musamali, Paul Lutta,
Daniel Omanyo, Hellen Chemnyongoi, Shadrack 
Mwatu, Nahashon Mwongera, Paul Odhiambo, Beverly 
Musili, Violet Nyabaro, Japheth Kathenge, Haron 
Ngeno and Elton Khaemba
 
KENYA INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY
RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
(KIPPRA)
The KENYA INSTITUTE for PUBLIC
POLICY RESEARCH and ANALYSIS
Thinking Policy Together
Socio-Economic Status of Vihiga County with 
COVID-19 
Eldah Onsomu, Rose Ngugi, Evelyne Kihiu, Mutuku 
Muleli, James Gachanja, Rogers Musamali, Paul Lutta, 
Daniel Omanyo, Hellen Chemnyongoi, Shadrack Mwatu, 
Nahashon Mwongera, Paul Odhiambo, Beverly Musili, 
Violet Nyabaro, Japheth Kathenge, Haron Ngeno and 
Elton Khaemba
Kenya Institute for Public Policy 
Research and Analysis
2022
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
KIPPRA in Brief
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documented information on public policy, and in the process assists in formulating 
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which the Government and the private sector may obtain information and advice 
on public policy issues.
Published 2022
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ii
Table of Contents
Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................................................... ix
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ x
Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. xi
Labour  Participation .......................................................................................................... xiv
1  Introduction and Structure of County Economy  ................ 1
1.1 Introduction  ....................................................................................................1
1.2 Level of Socio-Economic Deprivations .......................................................... 2
1.3 Structure of Vihiga County Economy ............................................................ 3
1.4 COVID-19 Caseload and Implications of Mobility Restrictions  ................... 4
2  Socio-economic Effect of COVID-19 .................................. 6
2.1 Fiscal Policy  ................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Key Messages  ................................................................................................14
2.3 Recommendations .........................................................................................15
3 Agriculture ...................................................................... 16
3.1 Characteristics of the Sector ..........................................................................16
3.2 Opportunities with COVID19 in Agriculture Sector .................................... 26
3.3 Emerging Issues  .......................................................................................... 27
3.4 Recommendations ........................................................................................28
4 Water Sanitation and Hygiene  ........................................29
4.1 Characteristic of the Sector .......................................................................... 29
4.2 Opportunities with COVID19 in WASH ....................................................... 35
4.3 Emerging Issues  .......................................................................................... 35
4.4 Recommendations  ....................................................................................... 36
5 Manufacturing, Trade and MSMEs ................................. 38
5.1  Characteristics of Manufacturing Sector  ...................................................38
5.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in Industrial Recovery and Growth .............51
5.3 Emerging Issues ........................................................................................... 52
5.4 Recommendations ........................................................................................ 53
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
6  Infrastructure  .................................................................54
6.1  Transport Sector  .......................................................................................... 54
6.2 Information and Communication Technology ............................................ 58
7  Housing and urban development  .......................................63
7.1 Characteristics of the Sector ......................................................................... 63
7.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 on Urban Development  ............................. 66
7.3 Emerging Issues ...........................................................................................66
7.4 Recommendations ........................................................................................66
8 Tourism .......................................................................... 68
8.1 Characteristic of the Sector  .........................................................................68
8.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in Tourism Sector ....................................... 69
8.3 Emerging Issues  ..........................................................................................69
8.4 Recommendations  ....................................................................................... 70
9  Health  ............................................................................. 71
9.1 Characteristics of the Sector ..........................................................................71
9.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in Health Sector .......................................... 78
9.3 Emerging Issues ........................................................................................... 78
9.4 Recommendations ........................................................................................ 79
10 Education and Training .................................................. 80
10.1  Characteristics of the Sector ........................................................................80
10.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in Education and Training..........................86
10.3 Emerging Issues  .......................................................................................... 87
10.4 Recommendations ........................................................................................ 87
11  Social Protection  ............................................................ 88
11.1 Characteristics of the Sector .........................................................................88
11.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in Social Protection  .................................... 92
11.3 Emerging Issues  ..........................................................................................92
11.4 Recommendations ........................................................................................ 93
12 Labour Participation ........................................................95
12.1 Characteristics of the Sector ......................................................................... 95
12.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in Labour Participation ..............................98
12.3 Emerging Issues ...........................................................................................98
12.4 Recommendations ........................................................................................98
iv
13 Conclusion and Key Recommendations .........................100
13.1 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 100
13.2 Key Recommendations  .............................................................................. 102
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Structure of the county economy, 2013-2017 .................................................... 4
Figure 1.2: Vihiga County New COVID-19 cases and the National Mobility Stringency .....5
Figure 1.3: Effect of COVID-19 on Vihiga Economic performance and the National 
Mobility stringency ............................................................................................5
Figure 2.1: Share of county revenues by source ................................................................... 6
Figure 2.2: Annual Own Source Revenue targets and actual collections ............................ 8
Figure 2.3: Quarterly Own Source Revenue collection ........................................................ 8
Figure 2.4: Trends of county government expenditures ....................................................10
Figure 2.5: County government expenditure by economic classification ( per cent of total 
county government expenditure ..................................................................... 11
Figure 2.6: Approved versus actual county spending (Ksh Million ...................................13
Figure 2.7: Absorption rates for recurrent and development expenditures (per cent) .....13
Figure 2.8: Profile of county pending bills ..........................................................................14
Figure 3.2: Agriculture Related Labor Force Participation  .............................................. 20
Figure 3.3: Changes in Hours Worked by in Agriculture Related Occupations ................21
Figure 3.4: Limited access to markets to purchase food items  ........................................ 22
Figure 3.5: Reason for Limited access to markets/ grocery stores ................................... 22
Figure 3.6: Percentage of households experiencing change in food commodity prices  .. 23
Figure 3.7: Proportion of households facing large food price shocks  .............................. 23
Figure 3.8: per cent Households reporting that the following food items were not  
readily available in their locality .................................................................... 24
Figure 3.9: per cent of households where the following strategies were adopted for 
 at least one day ............................................................................................... 24
Figure 3.10: Percentage of households who experienced the below shocks in the  
past two weeks the KNBS Wave 2 survey   ..................................................... 25
Figure 4.1: Access to water by households ......................................................................... 30
Figure 4.2: Access to improved and unimproved sources of water by households .......... 30
Figure 4.3: What households do to make drinking water safe ...........................................31
Figure 4.4: Volumes of water used by households in a month ...........................................31
Figure 4.5: Distance covered by households to and from water sources .......................... 32
Figure 4.6: Access and reliability to water sources by households  .................................. 32
Figure 4.7: Access to sanitation in the County ................................................................... 33
Figure 4.8: Access to improved and unimproved sanitation by households .................... 33
Figure 4.9: No of households sharing a toilet facility ........................................................ 34
Figure 4.10: Access to wash during the COVID-19 period  ............................................... 35
Figure 5.1: Sector of operation in manufacturing .............................................................. 38
Figure 5.2: Manufacturing firms by sector and size .......................................................... 39
Figure 5.3: Location of manufacturing firms by premises ................................................ 39
Figure 5.4 Distribution of Manufacturing firms by gender and sector ............................. 40
Figure 5.5: Education levels of manufacturing firm owners ..............................................41
Figure 5.6: Source of markets ............................................................................................ 42
vi
Figure 5.7: Source of material inputs ................................................................................. 42
Figure 5.8: Sources of finance ............................................................................................ 43
Figure 5.9: Recent sources of credit ................................................................................... 44
Figure 5.10: Main purpose of credit ................................................................................... 44
Figure 5.11: Constraints faced by manufacturing firms ..................................................... 45
Figure 5.12: Distribution of MSMEs by size ...................................................................... 45
Figure 5.13: Sector of operation by MSMEs ...................................................................... 46
Figure 5.14: Location of businesses by premises ................................................................47
Figure 5.15: Education levels of MSME owners ................................................................ 48
Figure 5.16: Main constraints faced by MSMEs ................................................................ 49
Figure 5.17: Effects of COVID-19 on household non-farm and farm businesses .............. 50
Figure 5.18: Labour dynamics on household non-farm and farm businesses ...................51
Figure 6.1: Main means of transport .................................................................................. 54
Figure 6.2: How has the cost of your MAIN travel changed ..............................................55
Figure 6.3: Change in travel patterns..................................................................................55
Figure 6.4: Has delivery of your household goods and services been affected by 
COVID-19? .......................................................................................................55
Figure 6.5: Road condition mix-classified road network .................................................. 56
Figure 6.6: Percentage distribution of conventional households by ownership of  
ICT assets KPHC 2019 .................................................................................... 59
Figure 6.8: Type of internet connection ............................................................................60
Figure 6.9: Mobile money transfer subscription and Mobile money banking platform  
Subscription ....................................................................................................60
Figure 7.1: Distribution of households Renting/ Provided with the main dwelling unit  
by Provider ...................................................................................................... 63
Figure 7.2: Has your household paid the rent for April 2020 on the agreed date ............ 64
Figure 7.3: Was the household paying rent on the agreed date with the landlord before  
COVID-19? ...................................................................................................... 65
Figure 7.4: What is the MAIN reason that has made your household unable to pay rent?6 5
Figure 7.5: What measures has your household taken to overcome the effects of Corona  
Virus – rent ..................................................................................................... 66
Figure 9.1: COVID-19 Testing, 2020 .................................................................................. 78
Figure 10.1: Access to ICT in Households and Schools ..................................................... 86
Figure 12.1: Effects of COVID-19, 2020 ............................................................................. 96
Figure 12.2: Difference between usual hours worked and actual hours worked during 
COVID-19 period .............................................................................................97
vii
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: Development indicators in Vihiga County .............................................................................. 1
Table 1.2: Population distribution for selected age groups in the County (2019) .................................2
Table 1.3: Level of Deprivations for the various indicators for multidimensional  
poverty in the county .........................................................................................................3
Table 1.4: Total COVID-19 cases and mobility stringency— Vihiga County ..........................................4
 Table 2.1: Share of county revenues by source ......................................................................................7
Table 2.2: County departmental/functional spending .........................................................................12
Table 3.1: Distribution of Households Practicing Agriculture, Fishing and Irrigation  
by County and Sub County ..............................................................................................16
Figure 3.1: Scale of Operation: per cent of households ........................................................................ 17
Table 3.2: Distribution of Households Growing Crops by Type, County and Sub County .................. 17
Table 3.3: Distribution of Households Growing Permanent Crops by Type and County ....................18
Table 3.4: Fruits Grown in Vihiga County  ...........................................................................................18
Table 3.5: Vegetables Grown in Vihiga County  ....................................................................................18
Table 3.6: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) Grown in Vihiga County  ..................................... 19
Table 3.7: Distribution of Households Rearing Livestock and Fish by County and Sub County ........ 19
Table 5.1: Distribution of Manufacturing firms by gender and size - N ( per cent ............................. 40
Table 5.2: Employment by gender and size for manufacturing firms ..................................................41
Table 5.3: Level of innovation by firms in Manufacturing ...................................................................43
Table 5.4: Distribution of MSMEs by gender and size -N ( per cent) ..................................................47
Table 5.5: Employment by gender and Size - N ( per cent) ..................................................................47
Table 5.6: Level of innovation by MSMEs ........................................................................................... 48
Table 6.1: Transport sector COVID -19 plan  ........................................................................................58
Table 7.1: Distribution of population by Urban Centers by gender .....................................................63
Table 7.2: Lands, Housing and Urban Development COVID-19 plan  .................................................67
Table 9.1: Health provision ................................................................................................................... 71
Table 9.2: Percentage Distribution of the Population that reported Sickness/Injury  
by Type of Health Provider in Vihiga County ( per cent) ...............................................72
Table 9.3: Percentage Distribution of the County’s Population with Health Insurance  
Cover by Type of Health Insurance Provider ( per cent) ................................................72
Table 9.4: Proportion of Children aged 0-59 Months by Place of Delivery ( per cent) .......................73
Table 9.5: Proportion of Children aged 0-59 Months Immunized Against Measles  ..........................74
Table 9.6: Health indicators in Vihiga county ......................................................................................75
Table 10.1 : Gross Attendance Ratio and Net Attendance Ratio by Educational Level in  
Vihiga County ................................................................................................................. 80
Table 10.2: Gross and net enrolment rate ( per cent), 2019 .................................................................81
Table 10.3: Percentage Distribution of Population aged 15 Years and above by  
Ability to Read and Write ( per cent) ............................................................................. 82
Table 10.4: Percentage Distribution of Population by Highest Educational Qualification ................ 82
Table 10.5: Percentage Distribution of Residents 3 Years and above who had ever  
Attended School by Highest Level Reached, and Sex for VihigaCounty ( per cent) ..... 83
Table 11.1: The proportion of households by the First Severe Shock in the County ........................... 88
Table 10.5: The proportion of households that received cash transfers by source, and household 
headship ......................................................................................................................... 90
Table 12.1: Distribution of Population Age 5 Years and above by Activity Status, and Sex in the 
County .............................................................................................................................95
viii
Abbreviations and Acronyms
ADPs - Annual Development Plans
AFA - Agriculture and Food Authority
AI	 -	 Artificial	Insemination
CIDC - Constituency Industrial Development Centres 
CIDPs - County Integrated Development Plans
DSA - Drug and Substance Abuse
FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization
GBV - Gender Based Violence
GCP - Gross County Product
GDP - Gross Domestic Product
HA - Hectares
ICTs - Information Communication Technologies
ICU - Intensive Care Unit
KCB - Kenya Commercial Bank
KDHS - Kenya Demographic Household Survey
KNBS - Kenya National Bureau of Statistics
KNOCS	 -	 Kenya	National	Occupational	Classification	Standard	
LREB - Lake Region Economic Bloc
LVSR - Low Volume Sealed Roads 
M.I.C.E - Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions 
MSMEs - Micro Small and Medium Enterprises
MT - Metric Tonnes
MTPs - Medium Term Plans
NGOs - Non-Governmental Organizations
OSR - Own Source Revenue
PFM - Public Finance Management
PPEs - Personal Protective Equipment
RAI - Rural Access Index 
SDGs - Sustainable Development Goals
TVET - Technical and Vocational Educational and Training 
UNICEF - United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund 
UN - United Nations
WASH - Water Sanitation and Hygiene
ix
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Acknowledgements
The development of the County Technical Reports was a combined effort of various 
departments at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) with 
support and inputs from the Council of Governors and the 47 Counties. Specifically, the 
Institute wish to thank KIPPRA’s Executive Director Dr Rose Ngugi for guiding the process. 
We would also like to thank the entire KIPPRA technical and research team comprising 
Dr Eldah Onsomu, Dr Evelyne Kihiu, Mutuku Muleli, James Gachanja, Rogers Musamali, 
Paul Lutta, Daniel Omanyo, Hellen Chemnyongoi, Shadrack Mwatu, Nahashon Mwongera, 
Paul Odhiambo, Beverly Musili, Violet Nyabaro, Japheth Kathenge, Haron Ngeno, Elton 
Khaemba, Rosemary Murebu, Beatrice Mwangi, Michael Ogolla and Ephantus Kimani for 
their tireless contributions to the success of preparing the report. 
x
Executive Summary
Fiscal Policy
The County’s main revenue sources comprise of the transfers from the National Government, 
Conditional Grants, and its own source revenue (OSR). Budget execution as measured by 
absorption rate has largely remained above 60 per cent over the review period. Average 
overall absorption rate stands at 72.4 per cent. Average development budget absorption 
rate stands at 51.0 per cent while that of recurrent expenditure stands at 84.5 per cent. 
Pending bills have been declining over the review period but remain high with average 
development related pending bills accounting for 53.6 per cent of pending bills. County 
wage bill has been growing tremendously at the expense of development expenditure. 
Between fiscal years 2013/14 and 2020/21 county wage bill was on an upward trend and 
on average accounted for 46.0 per cent of expenditure, while development expenditure 
has been plummeting on average accounting for 25.6 of total county spending. Priority 
expenditure has been on non-administrative and non-coordinational functions such as 
health, education, agriculture, roads etc., accounting for an average of 59.9 per cent of 
actual expenditure. Health sector leads at 25.4 per cent. Administrative and coordinational 
functions such as county executive, county assembly, public service management and 
finance account for 40.1 per cent of expenditure. There is need to mobilize more finances 
from OSR to increase the available revenues for budgetary operations. Seek for more 
funding in form of grants from development partners to cater for the critical development 
projects in the county. Ensure that the ongoing projects are completed before launching 
new project and clear any pending bills and arrears owed to suppliers. 
Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
Crop and livestock farming in Vihiga County account for a significant share of the County’s 
economic activity. Farming in the County in dominated by subsistent, small-scale 
farmers. Key agricultural value chain commodities in the County include: - maize, beans, 
bananas, sweet potatoes, kales, cassava and sugarcane, avocado, mangoes, cattle, sheep, 
goats, poultry, pigs and aquaculture. Among the socioeconomic effects on the COVID 19 
pandemic on the agri-food sector in the County included negative effects on hours worked 
by in agriculture related occupations. An additional effect was a slow down on trade and 
marketing activities due to the restrictions on movements leading to price shocks and 
shortages of food items. Agricultural productivity in the County is also affected by: - 
variable and extreme weather events; land fragmentation; low agro-processing and value 
addition opportunities; low access to quality and affordable inputs; low crops, livestock, 
and livestock products marketing opportunities; low access to major off-farm services 
including extension, climate and market information, and credit services; and pests and 
livestock diseases; and farm losses and post-harvest waste. To successfully build resilience 
and enhance growth of the agriculture sector, the County will: explore partnerships to 
develop agro-processing and value addition capacities at the County; link farmers to diverse 
xi
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
product markets; Strengthen the County’s institutional capacity in disaster surveillance 
and management; enhance farmers access to critical agricultural inputs and services and 
build their technical capacity to act on information obtained; provision of storage and 
cooling facilities; and strengthen agricultural cooperatives.
Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Clean water, proper sanitation and good hygiene remains an essential component in 
protecting human health in times of outbreak of infectious diseases. Frequent and correct 
hand hygiene has been emphasized by World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the 
frontline measures to curb transmission of COVID-19. This has placed a higher demand 
for water use in households, schools, health care facilities, marketplaces, workplaces, and 
public places. This therefore has necessitated the need for provision of water, sanitation, 
and hygiene by national and county governments to all. The county government faced 
challenges in revenue collections with COVID-19 which has resulted into reduced incomes 
among households and businesses, thus deferring collection of revenue from the water 
services it provides as well as financial support to water services providers. This in the 
long run could affect the development of the water and sanitation sector. Additionally, 
COVID-19 poses health challenges to water and sanitation officers if they get infected, they 
have to be self-isolated, and this may lead to disruption of services. Other constraints to 
the sector include, drought, water leakages and destruction of water catchment areas. To 
ensure continuous availability of water, the national and county government to increase 
water supply in households, institutions, and public places through drilling of boreholes in 
all the sub-counties. Partner with private sector, donor agencies, local communities, and 
NGOs to help develop water infrastructure
Manufacturing, Trade and MSMEs
The momentum in manufacturing, trade and MSMEs was disrupted by the COVID-19 
pandemic as the containment measures associated with COVID-19 pandemic took a heavy 
toll on the sector. The measures that were taken, such as closure of markets, observance 
of health protocols in form of social distancing and handwashing served to increase the 
cost of production and affected access to markets for the produce. In sustaining growth 
in the Manufacturing, Trade and MSMEs sector, the County will: Collaborate with 
National government to establish a granite processing plant in the county as per the Third 
Medium Term Plan 2018-2022 flagship programmes and projects of enhancing mining 
for development; Consider an emergency rescue package for businesses and traders 
hard-hit by the effects of COVID-19 in the short run. The emergency Fund, supported by 
development partners and other stakeholders, can be used to identify, and support the 
most vulnerable businesses and entrepreneurs affected by COVID-19. Related, the County 
will inject some stimulus to cushion the businesses and traders through affordable credit; 
waiver of some County taxes, cess, and other charges; COVID-19 has increased demand 
for locally produced goods in the County, and especially Personal Protective Equipment 
(PPEs), sanitisers, hospital beds and ventilators. It is an opportunity to spur innovation 
and promote manufacturing and industry development and generation of jobs for the 
youth; and adopt the new pandemic guidelines including rearranging floor plans to allow 
for social distancing and maintain high standards of hygiene through having hand washing 
facilities in manufacturing establishments. 
xii
Infrastructure, housing, and urban development 
The main means of transport used in the County is motorbike 40.08 per cent, followed 
by PSV matatus at 28.75 per cent. The paved County Road network covers 27.15 KMs, 
while the paved National roads cover 125.31KMs. Out of the total paved road network of 
152.46KMs, 49.42 per cent is in good condition, 42.37 per cent in fair condition and 8.2 
per cent in poor condition. The status of ICT access and use in the county is low, especially 
among households. The housing tenure is predominantly owner occupied. The county 
has challenges in quality of the housing stock. Approximately 31.9 per cent of houses are 
constructed using finished materials for walls, floor, and roofing, compared to 68.1 per cent 
constructed using rudimentary materials.
In response to the challenges, it recommended that the county to; Apply labor based and 
local resource-based approaches for road development and maintenance, where technically 
and economically feasible, in line with the Roads 2000 national policy; Speed up the 
construction of fiber-optic broadband networks in underdeveloped areas; and Fastrack 
implementation of the affordable housing programme with a focus on improving living 
conditions and building quality applying finished materials for walls, floors and roofing.
Tourism
The main tourist attractions in Vihiga County include nature-based tourism, cultural 
and heritage tourism, Agro-tourism and ecotourism and medical tourism. There are no 
star-rated hotel facilities in Vihiga County. However, there are 7 registered hotels that are 
easily accessible and distributed across the county. There is great opportunity to invest in 
luxury hotels to tap into the high-end tourist market, and campsites to target backpackers 
and adventure tourists. There is need to enforce high sanitation standards at tourism 
accommodation and attraction sites; sanitation is emerging as a key component in ensuring 
business continuity in the tourism sector. Accommodation facilities that will meet the re-
opening measures for hospitality sector are likely to recover faster from the effects of the 
pandemic, since tourist – both domestic and foreign – will be concerned about their safety 
(in terms of contracting the pandemic) first. 
Health 
The county has one public county referral facility, Vihiga County Hospital at Mbale. There 
are three level 4 facilities 18 health centers, 32 dispensaries and 34 private and mission-
based facilities. The average distance to the nearest facility is 5 Km. The county doctor to 
population ratio is 1:10,000 in 2017 against the national doctors to population of 1:16,520. 
This ratio steadily improved to 1: 8000 in 2020 and 1: 6000 in 2021 with the recent 
recruitment of health workers. On the other hand the county nurse to population ratio has 
improved from 1:1500 in 2017 and to 1: 1500 in 2019. The National Hospital Insurance 
Fund (NHIF) was the leading health insurance provider reported by 94.8 per cent of the 
population. About 24.8 per cent of children were delivered at home which is below the 
national percentage of 31.3 per cent. The proportion of children born in hospitals, health 
xiii
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
centres, and dispensary/clinics was 42.9 per cent, 22 per cent, and 6.9 per cent respectively. 
The county had 57.3 per cent of the children aged 12-23 months were fully immunized 
against measles at 9 months while 8.1 per cent were fully immunized against measles 
at 18 months. There is need for more awareness on immunization so that mothers can 
ensure their children get immunized. Implement a comprehensive human resource health 
management system including undertaking training needs assessments and information 
system to ensure skilled and motivated health care workers, equitable deployed across all 
sub-counties. This is in addition to paying the salaries in time to avoid cases of strikes and 
low staff morale. Recruit additional of public health officers and community health workers 
to strengthen preventive and public health systems.
Education and training 
The number of early childhood centres was 852, primary schools was 475, secondary 
schools 157, adult learning centres 107 and technical and vocational training centres 31 in 
2007. During the same period, KMTC and Kaimosi University Colleges were established at 
Mbale and Kaimosi respectively adding to the existing tertiary colleges, namely Ebunangwe 
University Campus, Friends Kaimosi Institute of Technology, Vihiga, St Joseph’s, Goibei 
and Kaimosi Teachers Colleges. The Gross Attendance Rate (GAR) for pre-primary school 
was 90.9 per cent while that of primary school and secondary school was 112.9 and 75.3 per 
cent respectively in 2015/16. The County with support from stakeholders would continue 
to invest in early childhood development through infrastructural development to allow 
for adequate social distancing; deployment of ECDE teachers and provision of sanitation 
facilities. The county to provide financial or in-kind support, such as school feeding, to 
help families overcome the increased costs of attending school and provide psychosocial 
support to teachers and learners during and after the pandemic.
Social protection
The County has an estimated number of 20,000 PWDs (3.8 per cent) and 7.5 per cent 
older persons aged 65 years and above as shown in table 67 below. Overall poverty levels 
in the county are at 76 per cent, while 36 per cent and 43 per cent of the population is 
multidimensionally and food poor. The proportion of stunted children in the county is 
24 per cent of the total population. The county has in place an ongoing programme to 
provide daily animals to vulnerable groups. So far provided 38 daily cattle / goats. It will be 
important for the County to build linkages with other Ministries, and with NGOs that work 
with vulnerable groups to strengthen families, deliver assistive devices, reduce barriers to 
access and provide vocational training. Undertake research to get a better understanding 
of the actual situation of disability and chronic illness in the County, and to map existing 
initiatives on social protection.
Labour Participation
The major Economic Activities that drive Vihiga Economy are Cottage Industries, 
Subsistence Farming, Tea Farming, Horticulture, Livestock Farming, Wholesale and 
Retail Trade, Quarrying and Mining. Drivers of industrialization in Vihiga County include 
Strategic location, raw materials, existing infrastructure and regional markets. Industrial 
potential exists in agro-industrial processing, Meat and dairy and sanitary products. These 
investments can be supported through additional investments in green energy and business 
xiv
development services for private sector facilitation into industrial zones. The county needs 
to enhance investments and mechanisms for up skilling and reskilling, deepening technical 
skills as well as ICT skills; and retraining employees on how to work from home, where 
applicable. The county government needs to protect workers in the informal economy by 
pursuing innovative policies including of non-contributory and contributory social security 
schemes and facilitate transition to the formal economy in the longer term.
xv

1.  Introduction and Structure of County Economy 
1.1 Introduction 
Vihiga County is one of the counties in the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB). The county 
occupies a land area of 531 km2. The county had an estimated population of 590,013 people 
of which 48.0 per cent were male and 51.9 per cent female (KNBS, 2019) as indicated in 
table 1. Of the population 20,000 (3.8 per cent) are persons with disability. The youth 
constituted 31.0 per cent of the population of whom 52.0 per cent were female. The county 
has a population density of 1,111 per km2. About 90.0 per cent of the population live in 
rural areas of whom 51.9 per cent are female. The elderly population (aged 65 year and 
above) make up 7.5 per cent of the total population of whom 56.0 per cent were female. The 
population in school going age group (4-22 years) was 47.7 per cent in 2019. 
In 2015/2016, the overall poverty rate in Vihiga County was 43.0 cent against the national 
poverty rate of 36.1 per cent. In addition, 36.3 per cent of the population were living in 
food poverty and 76.1 per cent were living in multidimensional poverty, that means being 
deprived in several dimensions including health care, nutrition, and adequate food, drinking 
water, sanitation and hygiene, education, knowledge of health and nutrition, housing and 
standard of living, and access to information. According to KDHS 2014, 23.5 per cent of the 
children were stunted as compared to the average national level at 26.1 per cent.
Table 1.1: Development indicators in Vihiga County
County National
Estimated County Population (KNBS,  1.1 per cent of 
2019) 590,013 total population
Males 286,678 48.0%
Females 306,323 51.9%
Intersex 18 0.002%
Estimated Population Density (km2) 1,111 82
Persons with disability 20,000 2.2
Population living in rural areas (%) 90.0% 68.8%
Children (0-14 years) (%) 41.5% 41.1%
School going age (4-22 years) (%) 47.7% 68.7%
Youth 15-34 years (%) 31.0% 36.1%
Labour force (15-64 years) (%) 51.4% 55.0%
1
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Elderly population (over 65-year-old) 7.5% 3.9%
Poverty (2015/2016) (%) 43.0% 36.1%
Food Poverty (2015/2016) ( per cent) 36.3% 31.9%
Multidimensional Poverty (2015/2016) 76.1% 56.1%
(%)
Stunted children (KDHS 2014) 23.5% 26%
Gross County Product (Ksh million) 85,407 0.8% share to 
2020 total GDP 
Average growth of Nominal GCP/GDP 18.1% 104.3%
(2013-2017) (%)
Data Source: KNBS (2021)
The age distribution of the county residents as per the 2019 Housing and Population 
Census is shown in table 1.2. The bulk of the County’s population is in the age group of 
between 15-34 years comprising of 182,932 individuals. They are followed by persons 
aged between 6-13 years who are the primary school children comprising of 134,724 of the 
county population. The under 0-3 age comprise of 50,778 of the county population. This 
shows that the county has a general youthful population.
Table 1.2: Population distribution for selected age groups in the County (2019)
Age Group Male Female Total
Under 0-3  25,135  25,643   50,778 
Preprimary school age (Under 4-5)  14,195  13,883   28,078 
Primary School Age (6 -13)  66,831  67,893  134,724 
Secondary school age (14-17)  32,827  32,372   65,199 
Youth Population (15-34)  87,933  94,999  182,932 
Female Reproductive age (15-49)   134,594  134,594 
Labour force (15-64) 149561 165715  165,715 
Aged Population 65+  19,508  24,787   44,295 
Data Source: KNBS (2019)
1.2 Level of socioeconomic deprivations
In 2015/2016, 24.3 per cent of the population had health insurance cover, 4.4 per cent lived 
in premises with water, 88 per cent lived in their own homes and 54.2 per cent had access 
to mobile telephone (Table 1.3) and majority of the households (99.5%) had access to toilet 
facility. As a result, the multi-dimensional poverty is estimated at 76.1 per cent.
2
Introduction and structure of county economy
Table 1.3: Level of deprivations for the various indicators for multidimensional 
poverty in the county
Indicator Details Percentage 
Distribution 
(%)
Health care Population with Health Insurance Cover 14.3
Drinking water (Time taken to Zero (In premises) 4.4
fetch)
less than 30 minutes 89.4
30 minutes or longer 6.2
Sanitation and Hygiene Proportion of households with toilet 99.5
facility
Shared Toilet 44.8
Not Shared 55.2
Place to wash hands outside toilet facility 15.7
No place to wash hands outside toilet 84.3
facility
Education (Population 3 Ever Attended 94.6
years and Above by School 
Attendance Status) Never Attended 5.3
Knowledge of health and Participated in Community Nutrition 3.5
nutrition (children aged 0-59 Programmes
months that participated 
in Community Nutrition Did not Participated in Community 93.3
Programmes) Nutrition Programmes
Housing and standard of living Owner Occupier 88
(house ownership)
Pays Rent/ Lease 8
Access to information Television 24.2
(Population Aged 3 years and 
above by ICT Equipment and Radio 68.7
Services Used) Mobile phone 54.2
Computer 4.3
Internet 9.6
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
1.2 Structure of Vihiga County Economy
Vihiga County Gross County Product (GCP) accounted for 0.8 per cent of total Gross 
Domestic Product (GDP) between 2013 and 2020 to as shown in Table 1.1. The GCP 
increased from Ksh 37,657 million in 2013 to Ksh. 85,407 million in 2020 representing an 
annual average growth rate of 18.1 per cent. The service sector contributes 54.0 per cent of 
GCP while agriculture, manufacturing and other industries sector share constituted 34.1 
per cent, 0.59 per cent and 12.0 per cent, respectively. The services sector includes such 
activities as wholesale and retail trade. Agriculture is mainly dominated by crop farming 
while industries and manufacturing include small scale production of consumer goods 
such as food processing.
3
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Figure 1.1: Structure of the county economy, 2013-2017
a) County Gross Product (2013-2020) b) Sector Contribution as share of GCP (2017)
Source: KNBS (2021)
1.3 COVID-19 Caseload and Implications of Mobility 
Restrictions 
As of March 2020, Vihiga County had zero cases. However, by August 2020, the County 
had reported 11 COVID-19 cases with mobility stringency of 70.4. The caseload would rise 
to 611 by August 2021 with mobility stringency of 56.0. The mobility stringency index is a 
composite measure rescaled to a value from 0 to 100 (100=strictest) based on nine response 
mobility indicators. The nine metrics used to calculate the mobility stringency index include 
school closures, workplace closures, cancellation of public events, restrictions on public 
gatherings, closure of public transport, stay-at-home requirements, public information 
campaigns, restrictions on internal movements and international travel controls. An index 
measure closer to 100 means high incidence or severity of mobility restrictions. The County 
mobility stringency index implies the severity of the restrictions was moderate. 
Table 1.4: Total COVID-19 cases and mobility stringency— Vihiga County
Date Total cases Mobility stringency (0-100)
13th March 2020 0 36.1
23rd August 2020 11 70.4
23rd August 2021 611 56.0
Data Source: Oxford University
New COVID-19 cases in Vihiga County were highest between September 2020-December 
2020 and March 2021-August 2021. During the two time-periods, spikes in new cases in 
the County were preceded by relaxation of COVID-19 mobility restrictions. Reduction in 
the County’s new cases was similarly preceded by tightening of mobility restrictions. 
4
Introduction and structure of county economy
Figure 1.2: Vihiga County New COVID-19 cases and the National Mobility 
Stringency
Data Source: Oxford University
Public transport and workspaces have been the most responsive to COVID-19 mobility 
restrictions in Vihiga County. The performance of the sub-sectors has been affected 
negatively by tighter mobility restrictions and positively by less stringent mobility 
restrictions.
Figure 1.3: Effect of COVID-19 on Vihiga Economic performance and the 
National Mobility Stringency
Data Source: Oxford University
The broad objective of the report is to analyze the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 
across sectors and propose interventions for mitigating the effects. The report is organized 
as follows. Chapter 2 focuses on fiscal policy, planning and budgeting; Chapter 3 focuses 
on agriculture, livestock and fisheries; chapter 4 focuses on water sanitation and hygiene; 
chapter 5 focuses on manufacturing, trade and MSEs; chapter 6 focuses on transport and 
information and communication technology; chapter 7 focuses on urban development; 
chapter 8 focuses on tourism, chapter 9 focuses on health; chapter 10 focuses on education 
and training; chapter 11 focuses on social protection; chapter 12 focuses on human resources 
and chapter 13 concludes the report. 
5
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
2.  Socio-Economic Effect of COVID-19
2.1 Fiscal Policy 
County revenues are critical for enabling the county government to undertake its 
development projects and finance its recurrent expenditure. The County’s main revenue 
sources comprise of the transfers from the National Government, Conditional Grants and 
its own source revenue (OSR). 
Transfers from National Government
Total County revenue has significantly grown by 69 per cent from Ksh 3.28 billion in 2013/14 
to Ksh 5.54 billion in 2020/21. The amount received in 2020/21 accounted for 84.2 per 
cent of the annual budget allocation of Ksh 6.58 billion for the County. The performance 
was an improvement from the 75 per cent of the budget allocation attained in 2019/20, 
supported by improved OSR collections and 100 per cent disbursement of equitable share 
from the National Government.
Analysis of the sources of revenue indicate that equitable share has been the main source of 
county funding accounting for more than 75 per cent of the total revenues (Figure 2.1). On 
average, it contributed 81.82 per cent of the total revenues between 2013/14 and 2020/21. 
Equitable share similarly has been growing over the years. It grew by 64 per cent from Ksh 
2.83 billion in 2013/14 to Ksh 4.65 billion in 2020/21. The amount received in 2020/21 
accounted for 100 per cent of the annual budget allocation. This implied that the County 
received all expected amount from the National Government, underscoring its commitment 
to support county operations through timely financing. 
Figure 2.1: Share of county revenues by source
Data Source: Office of the Controller of Budget (Various reports) 
6
Socio-economic effect of COVID-19
Analysis of monthly cash transfers from the National government to Vihiga County indicate 
an increasing trend from January to June over the years as shown in table 2.1 A similar 
trend was observed in 2020 with the transfers growing by 183.02 per cent between from 
Ksh. 1.7 billion in January to Ksh. 4.83 billion in June. In comparison to 2019, the total 
amount transferred to Siaya County in March, April, May and June of 2020 declined by 
3.86 per cent from Ksh 14.93 billion to Ksh 14.35 billion. In general, the months of January 
to June 2020 recorded lower transfers from the National Government in comparison to the 
same period in 2019. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic that greatly hampered economic 
activities and the business environment, coupled with the ensuing decline in OSR, it is 
important that the National Government increase the transfers to the county to facilitate 
implementation of various planned projects as well as necessary measures meant to curb 
the spread of Corona Virus. 
 Table 2.1: Share of county revenues by source
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Oct Nov Dec
2021  2,227.02  2,712.13     -     -     -     -  1,266.84     -     - 
2020  1,707.89  2,213.30  2,701.81  3,172.93  3,650.13  4,833.83  1,167.79  1,634.72  1,810.17 
2019  2,104.54  2,479.97  2,910.95  3,353.76  3,760.47  4,910.04  3,760.47  1,201.74  1,667.37 
2018  1,467.28  1,933.71  2,337.05  2,689.79  3,144.63  4,596.49   553.15   961.83  1,658.66 
2017     -     -  2,819.68  3,153.86  3,516.02  4,184.39   617.29     -     - 
2016     -     -  2,620.29  2,930.00  3,568.78  3,568.78     -     -     - 
Data source: Gazette Notice (Various issues)
Conditional grants
Conditional grants continue to be a major source of revenue for financing county 
operations and has been growing over the years. The County receives conditional grants 
from the National Government and development partners mainly from World Bank and 
Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), and Sweden. During 2020/21, the 
County received Ksh 134.43 million and Ksh 582.14 million from National Government and 
Development partners respectively. The contribution of condition grants to total revenue 
has been robust. On average, the grants contributed 7.56 per cent of the County total 
revenue between 2013/14 to 2020/21. In nominal terms, conditional grants have been on 
an upward trajectory and grew by 265 per cent from Ksh 196.97 million in 2013/14 to Ksh 
719.57 million in the 2020/21. During 2019/20, the county received the highest amount 
of conditional grants totalling to Ksh 816.14 million. The significant growth underscores 
the potential the County has in raising more revenue through grants. As a result, there is 
need for the County to maintain good relations and comply fully to the requirements of its 
development partners to continue benefiting from the finances.
Own Source Revenue
The share of OSR to total revenue indicate a fluctuating trend, averaging 3.41 per cent 
between 2013/14 and 2020/21 (figure 2.1). During 2020/21, OSR contributed 3.05 per cent 
of the total revenues, a decrease from 7.69 per cent registered in 2019/20. Notwithstanding 
the low contribution, analysis of annual County OSR performance shows an increasing 
trend over the financial years (Figure 2.2). The county registered a growth of 46 per cent 
7
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
from Ksh 115.94 million realized in 2014/15 to Ksh 169.11 million collected in 2020/21. 
The ratio of OSR target versus the actual collection shows a similar trend growing from 
30.69 per cent in 2014/15 to 115.33 per cent in 2018/19. This implies that the County has 
made significant efforts in mobilizing the collection of OSR. During 2019/20, the county 
generated Ksh 148.20 million from OSR, a 16.38 per cent decline compared to Ksh 177.23 
million collected during 2018/19. The decline was premised on the adverse effects of the 
pandemic that slowed down economic activities. In 2020/21, the County generated Ksh 
169.11 million as OSR, representing an increase of 14.1 per cent compared to the amount 
realized in 2019/20. The improved performance is partly attributable to the recovery of 
economic activities due to the ease of containment measures. 
Figure 2.2: Annual Own Source Revenue targets and actual collections
Data Source: Office of the Controller of Budget (Various reports) 
Analysis of the quarterly OSR show a robust performance in OSR collections during the 
third and fourth quarters of all financial years (Figure 2.3). This is mainly attributable to 
the payments of the single business permits that is due every 31st March of the year. During 
2019/20, the quarterly OSR collections were robust compared to the preceding years 
save for the last quarter. The performance indicated some level of resilience following the 
slowdown of economic activities at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020/21, the 
quarterly performance reflects the recovery of economic activities as the county registered 
growth in OSR collection from the first quarter. Notably, the County realized the highest 
OSR collections amounting to Ksh 70.91 million during the last quarter of 2020/21. This 
signifies the path to recovery as the Country contains the COVID-19 pandemic through 
vaccinations and other Government’s support. 
Figure 2.3: Quarterly Own Source Revenue collection
Data Source: Office of the Controller of Budget (Various reports) 
8
Socio-economic effect of COVID-19
2.1 Expenditure analysis
Economic and political crises, natural disasters (such as droughts and flooding), security 
challenges and health crisis (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) highlight the consequential 
risks and underlying vulnerabilities in national and county level budgetary and planning 
system. These can substantially affect public resources and in cases of weaker planning 
systems they may impact the nature and level of service delivery to the citizen. 
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasize the productive role of targeted 
and strategic county level expenditure. The 2014 UN Secretary General’s Synthesis Report 
on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) states that “many of the investments to 
achieve the sustainable development goals will take place at the sub-national level and be 
led by local authorities”1. It is at the counties that economic activity takes place and when 
spending priorities and execution are done just right then the county and country will be 
set to the desired development trajectory.
Despite their constrained fiscal autonomy (such as inability to borrow funds) and relatively 
small budgets, the county government has a key role to play in promoting growth as 
espoused in the Kenya Constitution. This is particularly the case with development 
expenditure, which is within the assigned remit of county as per the PFM Act of 2012 and 
is key to the county’s future growth prospects given several decades of under-investment 
which have constrained productive capacity in the local economy.
Trends and profile of county government expenditures 
County expenditure has over the years been rising as the county escalates its efforts in 
provision of services to its residents. Total county expenditure has grown significantly since 
2013/14. With the implementation of the first full year county budget in 2013/14, actual 
expenditure in the county increased from Ksh. 2,487.0 million to Ksh. 5,713.5 million 
in 2020/21 (Figure 2 4). This translates to over 50 per cent increase in county spending 
over the period. Cumulatively the county has spent a total of Ksh. 31.7 billion between 
2013/14 and 2020/21. This comprises of a cumulative Ksh 23.1 billion and Ksh 8.6 billion 
on recurrent and development expenditures representing 73.0 per cent and 27.0 per 
cent of the cumulative recurrent and development expenditure respectively. This signals 
that development expenditure performance is relatively weak and there is even a greater 
opportunity to push development expenditure higher and support deepening of capital 
spending in the county.
1 UN General Assembly (2014), p. 22, par. 94.
9
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Figure 2.4: Trends of county government expenditures
Figure 2.4(a): Trends in actual aggregate Figure 2.4 (b): Trends in actual per capita 
expenditure expenditure
Data Source: Office of the Controller of Budget
Consistent with the nominal growth in actual county expenditures, spending on a per capita 
basis has more than doubled over the period. In 2013/14, per capita spending in the county 
was about Ksh 4,484.1 compared Ksh 10,044.4 in 2018/19. Between 2013/14 and 2018/19 
per capita spending averaged Ksh 6,265.7. At the end of 2019/20 per capita expenditure 
stood at Ksh 8,281.9 and then increased to Ksh 9,683.7 at the end of 2020/21. 
Utilization of public resources in the county
Analysis of expenditures by economic classification and by departments (spending 
priorities) reveals since inception of devolution, the county government prioritized 
narrowing the economic and social infrastructure gaps. Much of government development 
expenditures has mainly been on provision of health services, transport, infrastructure 
and communication, education, science, technology and vocational training, agriculture, 
livestock, fisheries, and co-operatives, as well as gender, youth and social services among 
others
The average county development expenditure between 2013/14 and 2020/21 was 25.6 
per cent indicating challenges in development spending. The development expenditure 
accounted for 14.8 per cent in 2013/14 and increased to 36.2 per cent in 2014/15 and since 
then took a downward trajectory up to 2017/18. Development expenditure accounted for 
32.3 per cent, 21.3 per cent and 11.0 per cent of total expenditure in 2015/16, 2016/17, 
and 2017/18 respectively. In 2018/19 the performance improved to 27.5 per cent before 
declining to 23.5 per cent at the end of 2019/20 as presented in Figure 2.6. The COVID-19 
pandemic escalated expenditure needs leading to an improvement of development 
spending to account for 35.0 per cent in 2020/21, the highest since devolution. However, 
the historical trends suggest the needed intensity of capital expenditure deepening in the 
county. 
10
Socio-economic effect of COVID-19
On the other hand, compensation of employees has remained above 38.0 per cent during 
the review period and has been on an increasing trend. The average share of compensation 
of employees in total county spending over the review period was 46.0 per cent. Surprisingly 
in 2017/18, compensation of employees exceeded half of the county expenditure. 
Figure 2.5: County government expenditure by economic classification ( per 
cent of total county government expenditure
Data Source: Office of the Controller of Budget
Reflecting on expenditures by functional classification or priority spending (Table 2.2), 
the county spent a combined average of 59.9 per cent of the total expenditure during the 
period 2014/15 to 2020/21 on non-administrative and non-coordinational functions such 
as county health services (25.4%); transport, infrastructure and communication (10.1%); 
education, science, technology and vocational training (9.5%); agriculture, livestock, 
fisheries and co-operatives (5.3%); gender, culture, youth, sport and social services (2.4%); 
environment, water, energy and natural resources (2.8%); physical planning, lands and 
housing (2.9%); and tourism, trade, industry and entrepreneurship (1.5%). On the flipside, 
coordinational and administrative functions accounted for a combined average of 40.1 per 
cent with county assembly leading at 12.8 per cent, finance and economic planning 11.6 per 
cent, administration and co-ordination of county affairs 8.6 per cent, office of the governor 
6.4 per cent while county public service board trailing at 0.9 per cent.
11
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Table 2.2: County departmental/functional spending
 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20  Average Average 
share of 
spend-
ing ( per 
cent)
Health Services  732.9  611.3  886.6  912.1  1,549.2  1,133.8  1,592.8  1,059.8   25.4 
County As-  392.7  563.6  601.5  457.9  568.7  548.3  597.5  532.9   12.8 
sembly
Finance &  270.3  631.9  349.6   77.1  478.7  732.8  842.2  483.2   11.6 
Economic Plan-
ning
Transport,  588.1  360.7  414.3  164.8  701.9  359.7  366.1  422.2   10.1 
Infrastructure 
& Communica-
tion
Education, Sci-  182.7  130.4  365.6  382.1  660.4  437.8  607.1  395.1   9.5 
ence, Technical 
and Vocational 
Training
Administration  361.5  170.0  395.4  252.4  391.7  582.5  351.3  357.8   8.6 
and Coordina-
tion of County 
Affairs
Office of the  416.5  241.5  252.5  163.7  337.2  214.0  234.6  265.7   6.4 
Governor
Agriculture,  202.0  103.1  104.8  158.2  291.8  389.4  286.1  219.3   5.3 
Livestock, 
Fisheries &Co-
operatives
Physical Plan-   97.7   20.3   42.4   20.2  194.3   92.6  387.2  122.1   2.9 
ning, Land and 
Housing
Environment,   97.9   43.4   73.3   44.6  180.1  138.6  236.8  116.4   2.8 
Water, Energy 
& Natural Re-
sources.
Gender,   67.5   56.4  137.9   33.0  205.5  129.1   79.1  101.2   2.4 
Culture, Youth, 
Sports and 
Social Services
Trade, Industry,   42.5   44.9   51.6   14.8   93.4  102.2  100.9   64.3   1.5 
Tourism and 
Entrepreneur-
ship.
County Public   53.5   30.1   43.3   24.7   46.3   25.7   31.7   36.5   0.9 
Service Board
Total  3,505.7  3,007.5  3,718.8  2,705.4  5,699.1  4,886.5  5,713.4  4,176.6  100.0 
Data Source: Office of the Controller of Budget
Effectiveness of county spending
Overall budget execution averaged 72.4 per cent in the period 2013/14 to 2020/21. In 
2013/14 overall total budget execution stood at 76.2 per cent. This execution declined to 
73.6 per cent in 2014/15 and slowed further to 48.5 per cent in 2017/18 before sharply 
increasing to 81.4 per cent in 2018/19. At the end of 2019/20, execution slowed to 70.3 
per cent before climbing to 86.8 per cent in 2020/21, the highest since devolution. This 
means that in 2019/20 only Ksh. 5,7135 million was utilized out of the Ksh 6,584.5 million 
approved budget. 
12
Socio-economic effect of COVID-19
Figure 2.6: Approved versus actual county spending (Ksh million
Data Source: Office of the Controller of Budget
With regards to development budget execution in the county, the average absorption rate 
between 2013/14 and 2020/21 was 51.0 per cent (implying that on average over 49 per 
cent of the development budget is not absorbed). This is a major budget implementation 
weakness, and the county should enhance budget implementation to ensure achievement 
of greater absorption rates to keep help achieve the targets in ADPs and the CIDP. On 
recurrent expenditure, the execution has been robust over the years, the average absorption 
rate has been 84.5 per cent leaving about 15.5 per cent of unspent recurrent budget. 
Figure 2.7: Absorption rates for recurrent and development expenditures (per 
cent)
Data Source: Office of the Controller of Budget
Pending Bills
In 2014/15 the county reported Ksh. 1,606.2 million in pending bills. This declined to Ksh. 
1,176.4 million in 2015/16 with development spending related pending bills accounting 
for 97.1 per cent and 90.4 per cent of pending bills in 2013/14 and 2014/15 respectively. 
In 2016/1 pending bills stood at Ksh. 1,184.8 million and remained the same in 2017/18, 
13
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
during which recurrent expenditure dominated accounting for 82.5 per cent. Pending bills 
declined to a record low of Ksh. 174.8 million in 2018/19 before picking up to Ksh. 1,110.3 
million by the end of 2019/20. In 2020/21 pending bills declined to Ksh 589.9 million. The 
average development and recurrent expenditure related pending bills during the review 
period was Ksh. 537.8 million and Ksh. 466.0 million. If pending bills for development 
were paid in their respective fiscal year, the execution of development budget in subsequent 
years would improve.
Figure 2.8: Profile of county pending bills
Data Source: Office of the Controller of Budget\
To achieve its overall goal of improving lives and livelihoods of its residents, the county 
government must now move quickly to tackle the problem of pending bills. Increasing and 
persistent pending bills is a threat to the survival of the private sector particularly primary 
firms that trade with the county government. These firms are critical for employment 
creation as well as driving economic activity within the county. These bills have not only 
affected their profitability and overall performance but have also become a threat to private 
sector in general and the families that depend on these firms through ripple effect. If not 
well monitored these could grow and eat up on the county’s already thin revenue sources.
2.2 Key Messages 
From the foregoing, the following are observed:
i. County wage bill has been growing tremendously at the expense of development 
expenditure. Between fiscal years 2013/14 and 2020/21 county wage bill was on 
an upward trend and on average accounted for 46.0 per cent of expenditure, while 
development expenditure has been plummeting on average accounting for 25.6 of 
total county spending.
ii. Priority expenditure has been on non-administrative and non-coordinational 
functions such as health, education, agriculture, roads etc., accounting for an 
average of 59.9 per cent of actual expenditure. Health sector leads at 25.4 per cent. 
Administrative and coordinational functions such as county executive, county 
assembly, public service management and finance account for 40.1 per cent of 
expenditure. 
14
Socio-economic effect of COVID-19
iii. Budget execution as measured by absorption rate has largely remained above 60 per 
cent over the review period. Average overall absorption rate stands at 72.4 per cent. 
Average development budget absorption rate stands at 51.0 per cent while that of 
recurrent expenditure stands at 84.5 per cent.
iv. Pending bills have been declining over the review period but remain high with average 
development related pending bills accounting for 53.6 per cent of pending bills. 
2.3 Recommendations
To steer the county towards achieving its budgetary objective and development goals 
contained in the ADPs and CIDP, the following measures are proposed:
i. Mobilize more finances from OSR to increase the available revenues for budgetary 
operations.
ii. Seek for more funding in form of grants from development partners to cater for the 
critical development projects in the county. 
iii. Ensure that the ongoing projects are completed before launching new project and 
clear any pending bills and arrears owed to suppliers. 
iv. Ensure the ongoing infrastructure project are completed and suppliers paid within 
the specified timelines for optimal returns to investment and to spur private sector 
activity.
v. Improve budget execution and absorption of development budget by harmonizing 
project implementation cycles to budgeting and fast-track exchequer releases.
vi. Reduction of expenditure on compensation of employees within the PFM requirement 
since ballooning compensation of employees potentially affects execution of key 
development programs especially if not brought to sustainable levels.
vii. Monitoring and prompt payment of pending bills as they limit execution of planned 
activities in subsequent budgets.
15
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
3. Agriculture
3.1 Characteristics of the sector
Agriculture accounts for a significant share of economic activity in Vihiga County. More 
than a 30 per cent of County economic activity is driven by the agriculture sector. In 2017, 
agriculture accounted for Ksh 20,160 million out of the total Ksh 59,050 million Gross 
County Product (GCP) amounting to 34.1 per cent of the County’s GCP. 
Over 70 per cent of the households in Vihiga County practice farming. About 77 per cent 
of the households produce crops, 62 per cent produce livestock, 0.37 per cent practice 
aquaculture and about 0.42 per cent are involved in fishing. About 1.04 per cent of the 
households practice irrigation farming.
Table 3.1: Distribution of Households Practicing Agriculture, Fishing and 
Irrigation by County and Sub County
County/ Total Farming Crop Livestock Aquaculture Fishing Irrigation
Sub County Households Production Production
Households
Kenya 12,143,913 6,354,211 5,555,974 4,729,288 29,325 109,640 369,679
Vihiga 143,365 113,753 108,522 84,158 493 625 1,512
Emuhaya 23,804 20,210 19,319 15,249 105 108 256
Vihiga 23,375 18,652 17,927 14,385 87 98 244
Sabatia 31,422 25,789 24,892 19,441 81 134 329
Luanda 26,766 20,058 18,984 14,155 78 132 340
Hamisi 37,986 29,042 27,398 20,928 142 153 343
Kakamega 12 2 2 - - - -
Forest
Source: 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census
Regarding scale of production, we follow the FAO criterion on land size to identify small 
holder farmers as those producers that “fall in the bottom 40 per cent of the cumulative 
distribution’’ (Khalil et al., 2017). Using this criterion, more than half of the farming 
households (64.6 per cent) in Vihiga County are “small-scale” farming with a land holding 
of 0.675 or less acres of land. 
16
Agriculture
Figure 3.1: Scale of operation: per cent of households
Source: KIHBS 2015/2016. Figures for a period of the 12 months
Classified in the Western - High Population Density, Mixed Staples and Cash agroecological 
zone as per the Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS) 2019-
2029, crop production is key in the County. An overall analysis of the County agricultural 
production indicates among the top food crops produced by households in Vihiga include 
maize, beans, bananas, sweet potatoes, kales, cassava and sugarcane.
Table 3.2: Distribution of households growing crops by type, county and sub-
county
County/Sub Vihiga Emuhaya Vihiga Sabatia Luanda Hamisi
County
Maize 105,807 18,949 17,479 24,235 18,597 26,545
Beans 89,528 15,952 15,281 21,396 14,273 22,625
Bananas 84,487 15,553 14,877 19,856 13,598 20,603
Sweet Potatoes 50,944 9,938 9,811 10,280 7,874 13,041
Kales 46,248 8,444 7,942 10,952 8,030 10,880
Cassava 40,867 8,014 7,724 8,626 6,315 10,188
Sugarcane 25,329 3,788 5,077 6,417 3,636 6,411
Ground Nuts 14,238 2,902 5,400 380 3,421 2,135
Onions 11,438 1,454 1,955 2,555 1,514 3,960
Sorghum 5,160 1,243 988 958 1,178 793
Tomatoes 4,613 604 1,035 777 946 1,251
Potatoes 4,222 671 760 967 713 1,111
Cabbages 2,308 276 415 618 342 657
Green grams 2,243 345 628 562 369 339
Millet 2,062 559 400 318 431 354
Source: 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census
17
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Key permanent crops among households in Vihiga include Avocado and Mangoes. 
Table 3.3: Distribution of Households Growing Permanent Crops by Type and 
County
County/Sub County Tea Coffee Avocado Citrus Mango
Vihiga 11,273 1,717 34,321 1,233 26,209
Kenya 476,613 478,936 966,976 177,445 796,867
Source: 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census
Resource productivity is another key important factor in determining the agro-processing 
potential (scale) of the County and would have a great impact on farmers’ incomes and the 
County’s GCP. An assessment of horticultural productivity indicates Vihiga’s value of fruits 
production in 2019 amounted to Ksh 73.3 million. The area under fruit was 418 Ha with a 
production of 2,889 MT. The major fruits grown in order of value importance are banana, 
pineapples, mango, avocado, macadamia nuts, yellow passion and cashew nuts.
Table 3.4: Fruits Grown in Vihiga County 
Type of Fruit Area in Ha Production in Tons Value in Shillings
Banana 255 1,915 38,450,000
Pineapples 24 330 14,850,000
Mango 51 330 6,600,000
Avocado 34 220 6,600,000
Macadamia nuts 13 3 3,000,000
Yellow passion 7 35 1,650,000
Cashew nuts 11 10 1,000,000
Guavas 19 28 560,000
Lime 2 16 480,000
Pepino melon 2 2 120,000
Total 418 2,889 73,310,000
Source: Agriculture and Food Authority (2019)
In 2019, the value of vegetables production in the County amounted to Ksh 89.1 million. 
The area under vegetables was 423 Ha with a production of 2,694 MT. The major vegetables 
grown in order of value importance are cabbage, spider plant, sweetcorn, grain amaranth, 
African nightshade and cowpeas.
Table 3.5: Vegetables grown in Vihiga County 
Type of Vegetables Area in Ha Production in Tons Value in Shillings
Cabbage 92 1,080 21,600,000
18
Agriculture
Spider Plant 108 450 16,850,000
Sweetcorn 54 268 12,290,000
Grain Amaranth 42 243 11,470,000
African Nightshade 33 171 9,840,000
Cowpea 47 154 7,660,000
Kales 5 56 3,920,000
French Beans 10 150 3,000,000
Pumpkin Fruit 14 28 1,400,000
Babycorn 7 18 900,000
Slenderleaf/Rattlepod/Mitoo 2 4 160,000
Jute Mallow/Mrenda 9 72
Total 423 2,694 89,090,000
Source: Agriculture and Food Authority (2019)
In 2019, the value of MAPs production in the County amounted to Ksh 960,000. The area 
under MAPSs was 12 Ha with a production of 48 MT. The major MAPs grown are Bulb 
Onions.
Table 3.6: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) Grown in Vihiga County 
Type of Medicinal and Area in Ha Production in Tons Value in Ksh
Aromatic Plants (MAPs)
Bulb Onion 12 48 960,000
Source: Agriculture and Food Authority (2019)
Animal production is also a key economic activity in Vihiga County. Other than rearing 
the traditional livestock (i.e. cattle, sheep and goats), the County has promoted poultry 
production, pig farming and aquaculture among farming households in the County. 
Table 3.7: Distribution of Households Rearing Livestock and Fish by County 
and Sub County
County/Sub County Kenya Vihiga Emuhaya Vihiga Sabatia Luanda Hamisi
Indigenous Chicken 3,337,700 72,658 13,378 12,687 16,937 12,036 17,620
Indigenous cattle 2,260,439 54,900 10,821 9,715 11,159 9,114 14,091
Goats 1,898,887 14,395 1,946 3,555 2,787 2,386 3,721
Exotic cattle -Dairy 939,916 12,316 1,716 1,985 4,315 1,745 2,555
Exotic Chicken Layers 194,517 2,399 247 411 686 381 674
Sheep 1,299,893 2,946 458 350 735 565 838
Rabbits 124,122 1,961 486 192 422 425 436
Exotic cattle -Beef 167,625 1,151 182 134 251 285 299
19
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Exotic Chicken Broilers 79,461 821 82 106 188 201 244
Pigs 110,383 1,324 296 98 329 311 290
Fish Ponds 22,019 478 102 83 78 75 140
Beehives 201,406 338 70 34 86 31 117
Fish Cages 3,361 23 6 4 1 3 9
Donkeys 500,682 37 18 1 7 8 3
Source: 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census
The above characterization of farming households highlights the priority value chain 
opportunities in maize, beans, bananas, sweet potatoes, kales, cassava and sugarcane, 
avocado, mangoes, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, pigs and aquaculture. With majority of 
the households farming the identified products, the Vihiga transformation strategy in 
agriculture need to prioritize value chains in the identified areas to positively impact of 
household livelihoods.
Agri-Food Challenges in COVID-19 
i) Human capital/employment levels – by gender
Agricultural labor participation in Vihiga indicates relative dominance by women agriculture 
related occupations in the County. Majority of the population in Vihiga are farm workers 
where the group covers occupations related to: Field Crop, Vegetable and Horticultural 
Farm Workers; Poultry, Dairy and Livestock Producers; and Crop and Animal Producers. 
The second popular agriculture related occupation in the County are the agricultural, 
fishery and related labourers. The workers in this sub-major group include Farm-hands 
and Related Labourers; Forestry Labourers; and Fishery, Hunting and Trapping Labourers. 
The classifications are based on the Kenya National Occupational Classification Standard 
(KNOCS)
Figure 3.2: Agriculture-related labour force participation 
Source: KNBS Survey on Socio Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households-Wave 2
20
Agriculture
An assessment of the COVID-19 effects on hours worked by in agriculture related 
occupations indicates workers in all the identified sub-sectors worked fewer hours in the 
reference period as compared with the usual hours worked per week. The most affected 
workers are the agricultural, fishery and related labourers who recorded the highest 
difference of 12 hours between the usual and actual hours worked in a week. 
Figure 3.3: Changes in Hours Worked by in Agriculture Related Occupations
Source: KNBS Survey on Socio Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households-Wave 2
The identified COVID-19 effects on labour force participation are likely to have negative 
effects on output thereby increasing yield gaps.
ii) Market operations 
Successful transformation of smallholder agricultural production in Vihiga County from 
subsistence to an innovative, commercially oriented and modern agricultural sector, 
as aspired in the national ASTGS, is dependent on the ability of the County market its 
commodities both in domestic, regional and international markets.
As a result of COVID-19, there has been a further slow down on trade activities due to the 
restrictions on movements. From the KNBS conducted between 30th May and 6th June 
2020, 11.4 per cent of the households in Vihiga County indicated over the past 1 week there 
had been instances where the household or a member of the household could not access the 
markets/grocery stores to purchase food items.
21
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Figure 3.4: Limited access to markets to purchase food items 
Source: KNBS Survey on Socio Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households-Wave 2
Majority of the households indicated the key reasons for not accessing the markets/grocery 
stores to purchase food items were closure of the markets/grocery stores (46.2 per cent) 
and movement restrictions (42.1 per cent).
Figure 3.5: Reason for limited access to markets/ grocery stores
Source: KNBS Survey on Socio Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households-Wave 2
Livestock trade has especially been majorly affected as traders are unable to take the 
livestock to the market. 
Restrictions affecting seamless movement of food commodities are likely to cause a hike 
in prices in non-production areas and fall in prices in production areas. 85 per cent of 
households in Vihiga County indicated that over the past 2 weeks from the reference period, 
while 13 per cent indicated that they had not experienced a change in the prices.
22
Agriculture
Figure 3.6: Percentage of households experiencing change in food commodity 
prices 
Source: KNBS Survey on Socio Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households-Wave 2
On the magnitude of the price shocks, 73 per cent of the households indicated they faced a 
large rise in food prices in the past two weeks from the reference period.
Figure 3.7: Proportion of households facing large food price shocks 
Source: KNBS Survey on Socio Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households-Wave 2
Poor access to markets also hinders the ability to supply food to the population as shown 
in the below figure
23
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Figure 3.8: per cent Households reporting that the following food items were 
not readily available in their locality
Source: KNBS Survey on Socio Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households-Wave 2
While access to all food groups were affected as shown in the figure above, a key concern 
is the effect on nutritious food categories-meat, fruits, vegetables, milk, legumes and 
vegetables-which are necessary for boosting the immune system of the population. 
Among the key strategies adopted by households to mitigate COVID-19 effects on food 
consumption include relying on less preferred and less expensive foods (68.6 per cent), 
decreased buying some non-food products (55.9 per cent), purchase food on credit or 
incurred debt (54.6 per cent), reduce number of meals eaten in a day (53.8 per cent) and 
limit portion size at mealtimes (51.5 per cent).
Figure 3.9: per cent of households where the following strategies were adopted 
for at least one day
Source: KNBS Survey on Socio Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households-Wave 2
Additional challenges faced by the County, albeit at low levels during the COVID pandemic 
period include Desert locusts (0.7 per cent); Floods/ Mudslides/ Landslides (1.2 per cent); 
and Livestock Diseases (1.1 per cent).
24
Agriculture
Figure 3.10: Percentage of households who experienced the below shocks in 
the past two weeks the KNBS Wave 2 survey 
Source: KNBS Survey on Socio Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Households-Wave 2
Agri-Food Constraints Faced in the County 
Among the key constraints the County faces include:
i. Variable and extreme weather events which have increased in frequency and intensity 
over the years adversely affecting crop and livestock production 
ii. Low agro-processing and value addition capacity of the County. For instance, the 
County has only one tea factory (by the name Mundete).
iii. Land fragmentation due to land sub-division which affects productivity as production 
activities are becoming uneconomically viable. 
iv. Low productivity due to subdivisions and traditional methods of farming, raising 
concerns of food shortages, particularly staple foods like maize.
v. Overreliance on rain fed agriculture despite frequency in extreme climate conditions, 
such as, drought episodes 
vi. Low use and access to quality and affordable inputs including certified seeds, water, 
animal feeds, fish feeds, diversified fish species, artificial insemination (AI) services, 
fertilizers, livestock vaccination and mechanized production.
vii. Unsustainable land and natural resources management practices affecting soil 
fertility and ultimately productivity of land 
viii. Low crops, livestock, and livestock products marketing opportunities necessary for 
improved incomes
25
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
ix. Low commercialization levels of farming where majority of farmers practice farming 
for subsistence purposes and as a hobby rather than a business. 
x. Low adoption of high value crops that would increase farmers returns 
xi. Slow uptake of digital platforms to market agricultural produce. 
xii. Inadequate extension and veterinary services 
xiii. Dependence of rain fed agriculture despite frequency in extreme climate conditions, 
such as, drought episodes 
xiv. Inadequate and weak farmers’ associations and cooperative which hamper 
agricultural marketing 
xv. Farm losses and post-harvest waste.
The above challenges combined will lead to the overall impact of reducing farm output, 
farmer incomes and increasing the vulnerability of households to food insecurity and 
climate variability particularly drought and floods episodes.
3.2 Opportunities with COVID19 in Agriculture sector
An assessment of the sector linkages to other sectors highlights that the sector 
is enabled by:
i) Businesses/ MSMEs: Businesses and MSMEs are crucial in providing inputs and 
requirements to the agricultural sector. 
ii) Transport, Storage, and ICT sectors
iii) Financial and insurance activities
iv) Accommodation Food services
v) Manufacturing: The manufacturing sector plays a crucial role in agro-processing. 
Agricultural inputs also contribute to the processing of other manufacturing 
commodities
The County has opportunities in:
i. Provision of affordable and quality inputs including tea seedlings, quick maturing 
crops and vegetables
ii. Increased marketing opportunities/ platforms locally, across counties and 
internationally with the steady opening up of economies. 
26
Agriculture
iii. Developing County-private partnership in enhancing agro-processing and value 
addition capacities and linking farmers to product markets 
iv. Storage and cooling facilities including at collection points to minimize spoilage and 
wastages 
v. Adoption of drought resistant livestock pastures/fodder and fodder 
vi. Adoption of sustainable land and natural resources management practices to include 
minimal land subdivision practices, soil and water conservation, tree planting, and 
changing of crop type.
vii. Investments to expand and enhance water harvesting and sustainable and efficient 
irrigation.
viii. Adoption of drought resistant crops, livestock pastures/fodder and fodder 
ix. Diversification of production into fast maturing vegetable crops through sustainable 
irrigation.
x. Investments to enhance water harvesting, sustainable and efficient irrigation.
xi. Uptake of digital platforms to: - build capacities of farming households in modern 
agricultural technologies; and market agricultural produce. 
xii. Strengthening farmers’ associations and cooperatives as an additional solution to 
marketing challenges 
xiii. Enhance farmers access to supportive services to include early-warning systems, 
extension advisory and information services, and training on natural resource 
management, fodder conservation and value addition.
xiv. Improved crop and livestock emergencies surveillance systems in the County.
xv. Enhancing farmers technical and resource capacities to act on agricultural advisory 
information received 
3.3 Emerging Issues 
• Environmental degradation has reduced productive capacity of farms leading to 
increased risks to food insecurity and reduced farmers income.
• Climate change, manifested in increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather 
conditions such as floods, droughts and pest invasion.
3.4 Recommendations
27
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
To successfully build resilience and enhance growth of the agriculture sector, the County 
will:
(i) Legislation and implementation of policies to guarantee training programmes, credit 
facilities and land accessibility to youths at the identified rural youth organizations.
(ii) Innovative approaches to farming and identification of entry points have resulted 
in improvements in youth skills and opportunities in agriculture. Most agricultural 
programs tend to be highly focused on production, where youth face specific barriers 
that might be mitigated in potential roles higher up the value chain.
(iii) Develop partnership with development partners, the National Government, NGOs, 
Research Institutions and the Private sector in enhancing agroprocessing and 
value addition capacities of the County as envisioned in the national Agricultural 
Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS). The County has only one tea factory 
(Mudete Tea Factory).
(iv) Invest in storage and cooling facilities particularly at collection points. Coupled with 
agro-processing, this will minimize spoilage and post-harvest losses of perishable 
products. 
(v) Access to quality and affordable inputs including certified seeds, water, animal feeds, 
artificial intelligence (AI) services, fertilizers, and livestock vaccination. This can be 
achieved through cooperatives and farmers associations.
(vi) Promote transformation of agricultural production among small holder farmers in 
the County from subsistence agriculture to market-oriented production by linking 
farmers to product markets beyond the County level across the agricultural value 
chain.
(vii) Establish programmes for surveillance of disasters such as extreme weather 
conditions and livestock disease at the County level equipped with relevant technical 
specialists and finances to effectively prevent, prepare, respond and prevent risks. 
There is also need for the County to mitigate disasters, such as those related to floods, 
through institutional capacity development, vulnerability analyses and updates, 
monitoring and early warning systems, and public education.
(viii) Digitize the agri-food sector to enhance: - training and building capacities of 
farming households in modern agricultural technologies, provision of advisory and 
information services, marketing agricultural produce at a wider scope beyond the 
County level and improving access to innovative support services including credit 
and insurance services.
(ix) Invest in sustainable irrigation in the County through partnership with development 
partners. To support expansion of sustainable irrigation, there is need to promote 
development of Irrigation Infrastructure and technologies in the County.
28
4 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 
4.1 Characteristic of the sector
The county has adequate water sources which include permanent rivers, springs, shallow 
wells, dams, pans, and community boreholes as well as rainwater collection which provides 
clean and safe water for drinking and for livestock use. The region also receives heavy 
rainfalls during the months of March to June, however water sources dry up during periods 
of low rainfall and drought thus affecting household’s accessibility to water. The country 
has no sewerage treatment plant therefore most of the households tend to use pit latrine as 
well as septic tank.
Men are more involved in water sourcing than women, though women spend more time 
in water sourcing, an average of 41 minutes than men as shown below. No information on 
gender, age, skills of human capital involved in water and sanitation sector. Though there 
are also water vendors, who sell water to residents especially in urban centres and small 
market centres. 
Access to source of water by households 
The major source of water for drinking utilized by households in the county are water 
from spring(protected) (74.8%), dug well (protected) (4.4%), is surface water2(3.6%) and 
rainwater (3.5%). Only a small portion of households have access to piped water into plot/
yard (3.2%), this is more among male (4.8%) than female headed households (1.3%). 
Additionally, most rural (75.4%) urban, (72.6%) and peri-urban (74.3%) population uses 
water from protected spring, as well as other sources. On the other hand, the major source 
of water for other domestic uses in the county is water from spring(protected) (72%).
2 Surface water include rivers/dams/lakes/Streams/ponds
29
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Figure 4.1: Access to water by households
Source: KNBS 2015/2016
Access to sources of water by households (improved and 
unimproved sources) 
Access to improved sources of drinking water3 is high in the county among households 
(86.8%), as well as in urban (92.5%), rural (80.5%) households. This is also like the male 
and female headed households as shown in the figure below. 
Figure 4.2: Access to improved and unimproved sources of water by households
Source: KNBS 2015/2016
3 Improved source of drinking water includes; water from the following sources Piped water - piped 
into dwelling, Piped water - piped into plot/yard, Piped water - public tap/stand pipe, Tubewell/bore-
hole with pump, Dug well - protected well, Dug well - unprotected well, Water from spring - protected 
spring). While unimproved sources of water include water from spring - unprotected spring, Rainwa-
ter collection, Vendors - tankers-truck, Vendors - cart with small tank/drum/bucket, Vendors-bicycles 
with bucket, Surface water, river/streams/pond/dam/lake/cannal/irrigation channel Bottled water. 
This is according to the WHO and UN classification of sources of water. 
30
Water, sanitation and hygiene
Most households (47.7%) both male (49.2%) and female (46.1%) headed households do 
not do anything to make drinking water safe. But there are some proportions of households 
(20.6%) male (20.3%) and female (24.6%) add bleach. 
Figure 4.3: What households do to make drinking water safe
Source: KNBS 2015/2016
Volumes for water used by households in a month 
Most households (38.1 per cent), both rural (37.6 per cent) urban (29.7 per cent) and peri 
urban (42.1 per cent) have used between 3000 to 3999 litres of water in the past one month 
as shown below.
Figure 4.4: Volumes of water used by households in a month
Source: KNBS 2015/2016
Distance covered to water source and average time spend to and 
31
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
from the water source 
Majority of the households (99.5%) both rural, urban, and peri-urban covers less than 100 
metres to water sources meaning they have water within their premises or close to their 
compounds. Only a small portion of households covers more than 500 metres to water 
sources as shown below. 
Figure 4.5: Distance covered by households to and from water sources
Source: KNBS 2015/2016
Access and reliability of water sources 
Majority of households (62.3%) in the county relies on the main source of drink water 
all year round. Most households (31.4%) rural (27.9%) urban (20.6%) peri urban (42.3%) 
go to fetch drinking water from the sources every day. This means there may be more 
of interactions with other household members in areas where water sources are shared, 
this may lead to increase on infections of COVID-19 where COVID-19 guidelines of 
social distance and avoidance of crowded place may not be observed. It also implies that 
households may not be having water storage facilities that can minimize number of rips to 
water points in a day, therefore they may be at risk of water shortages during dry months. 
Figure 4.6: Access and reliability to water sources by households 
Source: KNBS 2015/2016        Source: KNBS 2015/2016
Access to sanitation
32
Water, sanitation and hygiene
Access to sanitation by most of households (56.6%), rural households (62.8%) and peri-
urban (51.6%) is by use pit latrine without slab compared to urban households (43.6%) 
that uses pit latrine with slab. Only small proportions of households have access to flush to 
pit (latrine).
Figure 4.7: Access to sanitation in the County
Source: KNBS 2015/2016        
Access to improved sanitation is very important in maintaining hygiene and keeping 
infectious diseases away, good sanitation can help to detect the genetic residues of diseases 
in wastewater as those who are infected are thought to shed traces of the virus in faeces 
thus prompting for immediate action from the health officials
Access to improved and unimproved sanitation 
Majority of the households (99.1%) have access to improved sanitation facilities4. This also 
similar among male (98.8%) and female (100%) headed households.
Figure 4.8: Access to improved and unimproved sanitation by households
Source: KNBS 2015/2016
Sharing of a toilet facility
4 Improved sanitation includes; flush to piped sewer, flush to septic tank, flush to pit (latrine), flush 
to somewhere else, flush to unknown place, ventilated improved pit latrine, pit latrine with slab, 
pit latrine without slab). Unimproved sanitation includes; composting toilet, bucket toilet, hanging 
toilet/hanging, no facility/bush/field, others.
33
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Additionally, a larger proportion of households (42.5 per cent) do share a toilet facility 
with other households, this is more in in peri-urban (62.8%) and rural (58.1%) compared 
to urban (40%) households. On the other hand, there are large proportions of households 
(57.6%) who share a toilet facility with 20 other households.
Figure 4.9: No of households sharing a toilet facility
 Source: KNBS 2015/2016         Source: KNBS 2015/2016                     
Sharing of toilet facilities with large number of households puts individuals at risk of 
contracting COVID-19, and other infectious diseases in cases where proper hygiene is 
not maintained as well as social distancing measures. Similarly, WHO guidelines require 
separate sanitation facilities for suspected COVID-19 cases which households may not be 
able to achieve.
Access to WASH during the COVID-19 period 
WASH has been identified very important in helping to curb transmission of infectious 
diseases, despite this, most of the households (83.5%) of the households in the county 
do not have a handwashing facility in their households. Further, on the other hand, most 
households (85.1 per cent) have access to WASH (Water and soap) during this period of 
COVID-19, as well as access to access to both water, soap and hand sanitizer (3.9 per cent).
Figure 4.10: Access to wash during the COVID-19 period 
34
Water, sanitation and hygiene
Source: KNBS 2015/2016        Source: KNBS 2015/2016  
More of hand washing should be emphasized especially to those who are not observing 
hand hygiene to help decrease the spread of the virus, this should be facilitated by provision 
of water, soap/hand sanitizer to households. 
Constraints faced 
Currently the county government is facing challenges in revenue collections since COVID-19 
has resulted into reduced incomes among households and businesses, this has forced the 
county government to defer collection of revenue from the water services it provides as well 
as financial support to water services providers. COVID-19 poses health challenges to water 
and sanitation officers if they get infected, they must be self-isolated, and this may lead to 
disruption of services. Other constraints include, drought, water leakages 
The demand for water remains high not only at household level but it has become essential 
in institutions, offices, marketplaces, and other public places. Water is also supportive to 
agriculture, livestock keeping, tourism and manufacturing. 
4.2 Opportunities with COVID19 in WASH
COVID-19 has highlighted the need to maintain a clean safe water, proper sanitation and 
hand hygiene which places more demand on water and therefore the county needs to 
leverage on lessons learned from COVID-19 by improving its water and sanitation coverage. 
4.3 Emerging issues 
Clean and safe water remains essential in the fight against COVID-19, water is utilized 
for maintaining hygiene more so in hand washing as well as other specialized uses in 
households, institutions and in public places. 
i. There is high demand for piped water in the county which stands at 52,912 M3 per 
day against 8,889M3 produced and supplied by the county per day5. The supply is also 
likely to diminishes in times of reduced rains and droughts thus leading to insufficient 
water supply in households, making households unable to observe hand hygiene.
ii. Most households in the county have higher access to improved sources of water 
5 Vihiga County 2018-2022 CIDP
35
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
both in rural (81.9 per cent), urban (92 per cent) and peri urban (94 per cent). Clean 
and safe water guarantees good health leading to low health expenditures among 
households. 
iii. There is low access to piped water in rural (3.4 per cent), urban (17.3 per cent) 
compared to peri urban areas (94.4 per cent). This means low revenue from piped 
water for the county government. Similarly, it also implies low access to clean and 
safe water thus putting households at risks to water related diseases. 
iv. Access to improved sanitation remains high in the county both in rural (99 per cent), 
urban (100 per cent) and peri urban households (100 per cent).
v. Household connectivity to piped sewer is low at less than 1 per cent in both rural, 
urban and peri urban areas. Low connectivity to piped sewer denies households from 
access to safe sanitation as well as revenue from sanitation services.
vi. Sharing of a toilet facility with other households is common among households, this 
is more in urban (60 per cent), rural (42 per cent) compared to peri urban (36.7 
per cent) areas. Toilet sharing puts households at risk of contracting COVID-19, and 
other infectious diseases in cases where proper toilet hygiene is not maintained.
vii. There is a higher access to hand washing, with majority of households (85.1 per cent) 
having access to WASH (water and soap) while only 3.9 per cent of the households 
had access to both water, soap and hand sanitizer during this period of COVID-19. 
This minimizes the risks of infections. 
viii. On the other hand, 83.4 per cent of the households do not have a designated 
handwashing facility in their households. This may put households at risk of 
contracting infection due to inability of maintaining hand hygiene.
4.4 Recommendations 
i) The county to increase piped water supply in households, institutions and public 
places through drilling of boreholes in all the sub-counties. To increase access to 
water the county government can partner with private sector, donor agencies, local 
communities and NGOs to help develop water infrastructure.
ii) The county to upscale abstraction of water from rivers, spring protections, harvesting 
of rainwater from roof and other catchments to help achieve increase to water access 
and to reduce time taken to water sources. 
iii) The county to increase water storage capacity to store harvested water during rainy 
seasons 
iv) Rehabilitate existing water infrastructure to reduce water leakages to reduce water 
36
Water, sanitation and hygiene
losses. 
v) Introduce automated billing software to help curb the increasing value of non-
revenue water.
vi) Establish water supply monitoring system for efficiency water supply and 
management.
vii) Expand and rehabilitate the existing piped water connection infrastructure to help 
increase access to water. The county government can collaborate with the private 
sector, non-Governmental organization and the local community to expand the water 
infrastructure. 
viii) Expand sewer infrastructure to accommodate more households
ix) Build toilets in communities, schools, health centres, marketplaces and other public 
places to help increase access to safe sanitation. Increased access to sanitation can be 
achieved through collaboration between county government, national government, 
development partners and PPP to expand sewer infrastructure and to accommodate 
more households. 
x) The county to help in putting place WASH facilities in communities, households, 
public places to increase access at the household level. Increased access to WASH 
can be achieved by supporting households with access to water, soap and WASH 
facilities, sensitization on the importance of handwashing. Collaboration between 
County Government, Non-Governmental Organizations, local community, and the 
media is important to realize increased access to WASH among households. 
xi) The county to organize sensitization forums on the importance of handwashing 
through the media and in community forums.
xii) Inculcate a culture of hand hygiene in the county
5 Manufacturing, Trade and MSMEs
37
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
5.1  Characteristics of Manufacturing sector 
Vihiga County has 1,764 establishments involved in manufacturing activities which 
comprise of 13.1 per cent of a total of 13,505 firms and all are micro in size (KNBS, 2016). 
The main drivers of the economy of the county include agriculture (34 per cent), services 
(55 per cent), and manufacturing (0.6 per cent) (GCP, 2019).
Sector of operation
According to the KNBS, 2016 survey, the key sub-sectors that drive manufacturing in 
Vihiga County include: food products (41.9%), wearing apparel (31.9%), furniture (14.9%), 
and fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (8.7%) (Figure5.1). 
These are sub-sectors that are considered essential in dealing with COVID-19 are likely 
to experience increased activity with focus on food production, production of Personal 
Protective Equipment (PPEs) and hospital beds. The key products useful in value addition 
and driving manufacturing include millet, avocado, papaya, sweet potatoes, cassava as well 
as French beans, and production of African indigenous vegetables. 
Figure 5.1: Sector of operation in manufacturing
Source: KNBS (2016)
Sector of operation by size
Nearly all the establishments in Vihiga County are micro in nature and operate in food 
products (41.9%), wearing apparel (31.9%), furniture (14.9%), fabricated metal products 
except machinery and equipment (8.7 per cent), and textiles (2.5%) (Figure 5.2). 
38
Manufacturing, trade and MSMEs
Figure 5.2: Manufacturing firms by sector and size
Source: KNBS (2016)
Location of manufacturing firms by type of premises
The common premises used by manufacturing firms in Vihiga County are commercial 
(71.9%), residential with special outfit (13.7%), market stall (9%), hawking (2.5%), and 
kiosk (1.8%) (Figure 5.3).
Figure 5.3: Location of manufacturing firms by premises
Source: KNBS (2016)
Distribution of Manufacturing firms by gender and size
Manufacturing establishments in Vihiga county are dominantly owned by male (45%), with 
females comprising 26.9 per cent while 28.1 per cent are jointly owned and all are micro in 
size (Table 5.1). 
Table 5.1: Distribution of manufacturing firms by gender and size - N (%)
Gender A11 Micro
Male 794 (45) 794 (45)
Female 475 (26.9) 475 (26.9)
Joint 495 (28.1) 495 (28.1)
39
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Total 1,764 (100) 1,764 (100)
Source: KNBS (2016)
Distribution of Manufacturing firms by gender and sector
Majority of the sub-sectors in manufacturing are male dominated including furniture 
(14.9%), food products (14.4%), fabricated metal products except machinery and 
equipment (8.7%) and wearing apparel (7%). Females are mostly found in the wearing 
apparel (19.8%), food products (4.6%), and textiles (2.5%) (Figure 5.4). Additionally, the 
following sub-sectors are jointly owned by both males and females: food products (23%) 
and wearing apparel (5.1%).
Figure 5.4 Distribution of manufacturing firms by gender and sector
Source: KNBS (2016)
Regarding employment, the manufacturing sector employs more men (65.1 per cent) than 
women (34.9 per cent) (table 5.2). 
Table 5.2: Employment by gender and size for manufacturing firms
Number of employees Micro Total
Male 3,017 (65.1) 3,017 (65.1)
Female 1,617 (34.9) 1,617 (34.9)
Total 4,634 (100) 4,634 (100)
40
Manufacturing, trade and MSMEs
Source: KNBS (2016)
Education levels of Manufacturing firm owners
Majority of owners of firms in manufacturing have secondary (39.7 per cent), primary (34.5 
per cent), mid-level college diploma or certificate (17.8 per cent) and vocational or youth 
polytechnic (6.2 per cent) education (figure 5.5). About 1.8 per cent of the manufacturing 
firm owners possess a degree education. 
Figure 5.5: Education levels of manufacturing firm owners
Source: KNBS (2016)
Source of markets
Majority of manufacturing establishments and MSMEs in general rely on individual 
consumers for markets at 87 per cent and 90.2 per cent respectively (Figure 5.6). MSMEs 
and non-MSMEs are also important sources of market to these two sectors as well.
Figure 5.6: Source of markets
41
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Source: KNBS (2016)
Source of material inputs
Overall, manufacturing establishments and MSMEs source for material inputs from 
amongst MSMEs at 59.4 per cent and 62.8 per cent respectively (Figure 5.7). Individual 
suppliers, farmers, as well as non-MSMEs are also important to the supply of inputs. 
Manufacturing firms and MSMEs also source for inputs from direct imports at 1.9 per cent 
and 0.3 per cent respectively. Disruptions in the external source markets therefore has 
adverse implications to both manufacturing firms and MSME operations in Vihiga County. 
Figure 5.7: Source of material inputs
Source: KNBS (2016)
Level of innovation by firms in Manufacturing
Table 5.3 reports the levels of innovation amongst establishments in manufacturing in 
Vihiga County. More process innovations are reported at incidence of 16.8 per cent, product 
comprise 14.1 per cent while market innovations are 7 per cent. 
42
Manufacturing, trade and MSMEs
Table 5.3: Level of innovation by firms in manufacturing
Type of Micro Total 
innovation Don’t know No Yes
Product 33 (1.9) 1,482 (84) 249 (14.1) 1,764 (100)
Process 33 (1.9) 1,435 (81.4) 296 (16.8) 1,764 (100)
Market 33 (1.9) 1,608 (91.1) 123 (7) 1,764 (100)
Source: KNBS, 2016
Access to credit for Manufacturing and MSMEs firms
According to the MSME 2016 survey, 67.3 per cent of MSMEs and 68.5 per cent of those 
in manufacturing applied for credit. The main sources of credit for firms in manufacturing 
include: commercial banks (71%), public financing agencies and cooperatives (8.1%), 
microfinance institutions (6%), SACCOs (3%), non-bank finance instituion (3%), among 
others. MSMEs mainly access credit from commercial banks (44.5%), microfinance 
institutions (6.7%), and public financing agencies and cooperatives (14.2%) (Figure 5.8).
Figure 5.8: Sources of finance
Source: KNBS (2016)
Recent evidence from FinAcess 2019 provides further insights on sources of credit for 
businesses in Vihiga County. Businesses commonly obtain credit from the conventional 
sources such as shops (55%), family/neighbour (24.7%), personal/business loans from 
banks (14.6%), SACCOs (14.6%), and from employer (7.9%). Emerging sources of credit 
for businesses in Vihiga county include mobile money (29.8%) and digital loans (4.7%) 
(Figure 5.9). 
43
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Figure 5.9: Recent sources of credit
Source: FinAcess (2019)
Purpose of credit
Figure 5.10 presents the main purpose of credit by both MSMEs and establishments in 
manufacturing. Broadly, manufacturing firms require credit for: business refurbishment 
(91%), working capital (6%), and purchase of inventory (3%). MSMEs in Vihiga County 
require credit for business refurbishment (55.5%), working capital (33.1%), and purchase 
inventory (7.1%), and non-business purposes (3.1%). 
Figure 5.10: Main purpose of credit
Source: KNBS (2016)
44
Manufacturing, trade and MSMEs
Constraints faced by manufacturing firms
The key constraints faced by manufacturing firms in Vihiga County include licenses 
(32.6%), lack of markets (16.3%), poor security (9.6%), inaccessibility to electricity (7.8%), 
lack of collateral for credit (3.8%), and power interruption (3.7%) (Figure 5.11).
Figure 5.11: Constraints faced by manufacturing firms
Source: KNBS (2016)
b) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
Vihiga County has 13,505 establishments6 with 12,883 (95.4%) being micro, 604 (4.5%) are 
small, and 17 (0.1%) are large enterprises (KNBS, 2016) (Figure 5.12). 
Figure 5.12: Distribution of MSMEs by size
Source: KNBS (2016)
Sector of operation by MSMEs
Majority of MSMEs in Vihiga County operate in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of 
motor vehicles and motorcycles (66.6%), manufacturing (13.1%), arts, entertainment and 
recreation (6.3%), financial and insurance activities (4.6%), and accommodation and food 
6 After applying weights.
45
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
services (3%) (Figure 5.13). Ideally, these are the sectors that have been affected most by 
the COVID-19 pandemic and need focus in achieving re-engineering and recovery.
Figure 5.13: Sector of operation by MSMEs
Source: KNBS (2016)
Location of the businesses by type of premises
MSMEs in Vihiga County are largely located in commercial premises (81.7 per cent), 
market stall (5.8%), and residential with special outfit (5.4%) (Figure 5.14). Majority of 
the businesses in the County could be having a lot of difficulties in meeting their rental 
obligations due income disruptions occasioned by COVID-19. According to the May 2020 
KNBS COVID_19 survey, 86.3 per cent of the non-farm businesses attributed non-payment 
of household rental obligations to reduced incomes/earnings while 13.7 per cent attributed 
the same to temporary layoffs/closure of businesses. For those involved in farm businesses 
all the respondents attributed the same to reduced incomes/earnings. 
46
Manufacturing, trade and MSMEs
Figure 5.14: Location of businesses by premises
Source: KNBS (2016)
Distribution of MSMEs by gender and size
According to table 5.4; 40.1 per cent are male owned, 31.5 per cent are female owned, while 
28.4 per cent are jointly owned (male/female). For Micro establishments, 41 per cent are 
male owned, 32.1 per cent are female owned, while 26.9 per cent are jointly owned. 
Table 5.4: Distribution of MSMEs by gender and size -N (%)
Gender A11 Micro Small Medium
Male 5,410 (40.1) 5,284 (41) 126 (20.8) 0 (0)
Female 4,259 (31.5) 4,138 (32.1) 121 (20.1) 0 (0)
Joint 3,835 (28.4) 3,461 (26.9) 357 (59.1) 17 (100)
Total 13,505 (100) 12,883 (100) 604 (100) 17 (100)
Source: KNBS (2016)
For small enterprises, jointly owned establishments dominate at 59.1 per cent, while male 
and female are at a rate of 20.8 per cent and 20.1 per cent respectively. Medium sized 
enterprises are fully jointly owned. 
In terms of employment, the micro sized establishments employ more people (76.9%) 
compared to small (20.6%) and medium (2.5%) (Table 5.5). Micro firms employ 43.8 per 
cent male and 33.1 per cent female and small sized employ 8.8 per cent male and 11.8 
per cent female. Medium sized establishments employ 0.6 per cent male and 1.8 per cent 
females. Overall, more men (53.2%) are employed by MSMEs in Vihiga county than women 
(46.8%). 
47
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Table 5.5: Employment by gender and Size - N (%)
Gender Micro Small Medium Total
Male 17,548 (43.8) 3,525 (8.8) 259 (0.6) 21,332 (53.2)
Female 13,267 (33.1) 4,744 (11.8) 726 (1.8) 18,736 (46.8)
Total 30,815 (76.9) 8,269 (20.6) 985 (2.5) 40,068 (100)
Source: KNBS (2016)
Education levels of MSME owners
The education levels of MSME owners are depicted in Figure 5.15 as follows: secondary 
(46.7%), mid-level college diploma or certificate (22.5%), primary (21.5%), degree (5.6%). 
About 1 per cent of the MSME owners have pre-primary education (Figure 5.15).
Figure 5.15: Education levels of MSME owners
Source: KNBS (2016)
Level of innovation by MSMEs
Table 5.6 reports low levels of innovation at 10 per cent for product, 4.7 per cent for process, 
and 4.6 per cent for market innovations amongst micro-sized establishments. Similarly, 
low incidences of innovation are reported amongst small establishments at 0.9 per cent for 
product and process while 0.7 per cent for market innovations. 
48
Manufacturing, trade and MSMEs
Table 5.6: Level of innovation by MSMEs
Type of Micro Small Medium Total
Inno-
vation Refused Don’t No Yes Re- Don’t No Yes No Yes
to know fused know
answer to 
answer
Product 0 (0) 91 (0.7) 11,062 1,310 (10) 0 (0) 28(0.2) 463 (3.5) 114 17 0 (0) 13,084 
(84.5) (0.9) (0.1) (100)
Process 0 (0) 195 11,656 612 (4.7) 0 (0) 28(0.2) 463 (3.5) 114 17 0 (0) 13,084 
(1.5) (89.1) (0.9) (0.1) (100)
Market 0 (0) 195 11,667 600 (4.6) 0 (0) 28(0.2) 480 (3.7) 96 17 0 (0) 13,084 
(1.5) (89.2) (0.7) (0.1) (100)
Source: KNBS (2016)
E-commerce
Participation in e-commerce by households in Vihiga County is below the national average. 
About 2.2 per cent of the households participate in online e-commerce which is below a 
national average of 4.3 per cent (KPHC 2019). In comparison, men participate more in 
online e-commerce (2.7%) than women (1.7 per cent). With introduction of stay-at-home 
protocols due to COVID-19 online trade has been expected to thrive, little may be impacted 
in Vihiga County since fewer households participate in the same.
Turnover tax
Only 7.1 per cent of MSMEs in Vihiga County (963) had a previous monthly turnover 
of above Ksh 83,333 which translates to Ksh 1 million a year. Ideally, this would be 
the establishments that are eligible for turnover tax with the new thresholds recently 
introduced vide the tax laws (Amendment) Act, 2020. The actual impact of this move may 
be difficult to estimate due to data challenges on actual revenue streams and the number of 
establishments that comply with the same.
Constraints faced by MSMEs
The following are the major constraints faced by MSMEs in Vihiga County: licenses (27.7 
per cent), poor security (13.3 per cent), lack of markets (9 per cent), local competition (8.5 
per cent), power interruption (5 per cent), and inaccessibility to electricity (3.3 per cent) 
(Figure 5.16).
49
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Figure 5.16: Main constraints faced by MSMEs
Source: KNBS (2016)
A study on County Business Environment for MSEs (CBEM) identified other constraints 
faced by MSMEs in Vihiga County as: financial and technical capacity, market 
environment, and worksite and related infrastructure (KIPPRA 2019). On worksites, MSEs 
face inadequate and unequipped worksites, lack of public toilet facilities, lack designated 
areas for waste disposal, poor road infrastructure, frequent power interruptions. On 
technical capacity MSEs are characterised by low levels of innovation, lack of training and 
apprenticeship programme for artisans, fragmentation due to multiplicity of players who 
offer training and capacity building, and lack of monitoring and evaluation of training 
programmes. With the market environment, MSEs face inadequate market for their local 
products; stiff competition among themselves; and unfair trade practises which manifest 
through; contract enforcement, counterfeiting, dumping (substandard goods) and 
misrepresentation (through weight, price, ingredient). MSEs also face bottlenecks related 
to; insecurity; multiple licences and permits; numerous procedures for obtaining licenses; 
and shortage of raw materials.
Effects of COVID-19 on household non-farm and farm businesses
Figure 5.17 presents the effects of COVID-19 on household non-farm and farm businesses 
in Vihiga County. 100 per cent of the respondents report a decrease in their business 
activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Equally 100 per cent of the respondents have had 
a decrease in their income due to COVID-19. This is an indicator that COVID-19 is already 
having a negative effect on the non-farm and farm businesses even though the situation is 
still evolving.
50
Manufacturing, trade and MSMEs
Figure 5.17: Effects of COVID-19 on household non-farm and farm businesses
Source: KNBS, COVID-19 Survey 2020
Labour dynamics
During the period considered in KNBS, COVID-19 Survey 2020 data collection, respondents 
did not report any improvement in the mean working hours for household non-farm and 
farm businesses in Vihiga County which implies that economic activities largely remained 
unscarthed between the interview periods .
Figure 5.18: Labour dynamics on household non-farm and farm businesses
Source: KNBS, COVID-19 Survey 2020
Key Messages:
a) The key sectors that drive the Vihiga County economy include: Services, Agriculture 
and Manufacturing. Hence, support should be targeted to these sectors to ensure re-
engineering of the County economy.
b) Access to credit perennially remains a constraint to MSMEs which hinders growth 
and expansion of businesses, even more so now during the pandemic. There is need 
51
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
to provide financial support to MSMEs that have demand, employ large number of 
people, and those that provide essential goods and services. 
a) COVID-19 presents opportunities that could be harnessed like development 
and support of innovations to address the pandemic. These include production 
of essential goods such as; masks, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), and 
sanitizers, disinfectants, canned foods, immunity boosting products, hospital 
beds and ventilators. As the pandemic subsidies a strategy is required for smooth 
transition.
c) Manufacturing establishments must also adopt to cope with the new guidelines which 
could include rearranging floor plans to allow for social distancing. 
d) Training and capacity building are important in assisting MSMEs to surmount the 
shocks faced during the pandemic but also allow for re-emergence. 
e) In terms of re-engineering, there is need to consider establishing support measures to 
re-vitalize and re-open businesses that collapsed during the crisis within the county.
5.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in Industrial Recovery and 
Growth
The following are some of the opportunities created by COVID-19 in trade, manufacturing 
and the MSMEs sector:
(i) Agro - processing for value addition with important areas of focus include maize 
and banana production and processing; millet, avocado, papaya, sweet potatoes, 
cassava as well as French beans; and production of African indigenous vegetables 
such as: Jute Mallow (Murenda), Amaranth (Terere), Black Nightshade (Managu), 
Spiderplant (Saga), and Cowpeas (Kunde).
(ii) The textile and wearing apparel sectors can be enhanced to provide PPEs for use 
within the County and potentially for the export market. 
(iii) Exploration and processing of minerals such as granite. 
Effects of COVID-19 on this sector
There have been both positive and negative effects of COVID-19 on this sector. These are 
outlined below:
(i) There has been an increased wave of innovations during the pandemic. 
(ii) have been faced with declining sales and revenues due to depressed demand and 
low circulation of money in the County, which is caused by loss of incomes by the 
residents.
52
Manufacturing, trade and MSMEs
(iii) There is a decrease in trade activities in the County due to restrictions on movements 
due to fear of attending physical markets, where there is fear of contracting the 
disease. 
(iv) Businesses are faced with challenges of increased costs resulting from the need to 
comply with new protocols in form of; provision of handwashing and sanitization 
points, wearing of masks even for workers, rearrangement of floor plans for social 
distancing especially for manufacturers and awareness creation. 
5.3 Emerging Issues
(i) There has been reduced income from traders, manufacturers and MSMEs and a 
corresponding decrease in taxes collected from them. This will affect implementation 
of Vihiga County’s planned activities due to reduced projected revenues.
(ii) The need to identify and promote specific and emerging values chains as a result of 
COVID-19, and which Vihiga County has comparative advantage.
(iii) Review all the ongoing interventions by the County and the national government to 
assess their effectiveness and especially regarding trade, manufacturing and MSMEs.
(iv) There is need for legislative amendments to ensure the Buy Kenya Build Kenya 
initiative is implemented at the County.
5.4 Recommendations
To support trade, manufacturing and the MSMEs sector, the County will:
(i) Collaborate with National government to establish a granite processing plant in the 
county as per the Third Medium Term Plan 2018-2022 flagship programmes and 
projects of enhancing mining for development. 
(ii) Consider an emergency rescue package for businesses and traders hard-hit by the 
effects of COVID-19 in the short run. The emergency Fund, supported by development 
partners and other stakeholders, can be used to identify, and support the most 
vulnerable businesses and entrepreneurs affected by COVID-19. Related, the County 
will inject some stimulus to cushion the businesses and traders through affordable 
credit, waiver of some County taxes, cess, and other charges.
(iii) COVID-19 has increased demand for locally produced goods in the County, and 
especially Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), sanitizers, hospital beds and 
ventilators. It is an opportunity to spur innovation and promote manufacturing and 
industry development and generation of jobs for the youth.
(iv) Adopt the new pandemic guidelines including rearranging floor plans to allow for 
social distancing and maintain high standards of hygiene through having hand 
washing facilities in manufacturing establishments. 
53
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
6.  Infrastructure 
6.1 Transport sector 
6.1.1 Characteristics of the sector
Majority of households own a bicycle (11.5 per cent) and a motorcycle (7.8 per cent). Car 
ownership is at 3.0 per cent (KNBS, 2019). The main means of transport used in the County 
is motorbike 40.08 per cent, followed by PSV matatus at 28.75 per cent, walking at 20.85 
per cent, private car at 4.91 per cent and bicycle (boda boda) 3.96 per cent, figure 6.1, while 
91.23 per cent of the population had not changed the main means of transport (KNBS, 
2020b). On average, residents travel 1.66 kilometres to their workplace at an average cost 
of Ksh 75. The cost of transportation has increased due to reduction in maximum number 
of passengers allowable in public service vehicles. For the commute to school, residents 
spend on average Ksh 332.89 (KIHBS, 2015/16). 
Figure 6.1: Main means of transport
Source: KNBS COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020
The KNBS COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020 revealed that 41.45 per cent of the population 
reported a change in the cost of travel/commute, Figure 6.2. The expenditure on transport 
increased by 60.58 per cent from Ksh 104 before February 2020 to Ksh 167 in May 2020 
for a one-way trip. The main change (97.3%) in transport cost was attributed to increased 
fares for PSV, Boda-boda and Tuk-tuk.
54
Infrastructure
Figure 6.2: How has the cost of your MAIN travel changed
Source: KNBS COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020
Residents had changed their travel patterns with 19.19 per cent of the population travelling 
less often, while 5.37 per cent travelled with the same frequency but with some difficulty, 
and 17.26 per cent were unable to travel. However, 46.04 per cent of the population did not 
change their travel pattern, Figure 6.3.
Figure 6.3: Change in travel patterns
Source: KNBS COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020
The pandemic has affected delivery of goods and services for 24.29 per cent of households
Figure 6.4: Has delivery of your household goods and services been affected 
by COVID-19?
Source: KNBS COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020-wave 2
55
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
The County was allocated a total of Ksh 164,948,954 from the Road Maintenance Levy 
Fund towards road maintenance in the Financial 2017/18 (OCOB, 2019). The county has 
a total of 1,046.84 kilometres of classified road network. The paved County road network 
covers 27.15km, while the paved National roads cover 125.31km. Out of the total paved 
road network of 152.46km, 49.42 per cent is in good condition, 42.37 per cent in fair 
condition and 8.2 per cent in poor condition. The unpaved road network in the county 
covers 518.06km (county roads) and 74.52km (National roads), of this, 21.11 per cent is 
in good condition, 53.35 per cent fair and 22.94 per cent in poor condition as depicted in 
figure 6.5 (KRB, 2019). 
Figure 6.5: Road condition mix-classified road network
The unclassified road network in the County covers 301.80km, with 242.8km of narrow 
roads, that is, road with a reserve of between 4-9 meters, while there is a total of 59km of 
new roads.
Constraints faced
The Rural Access Index (RAI) measures the proportion of the rural population who live 
within 2 km of an all-season road7. The county has a RAI of 91 per cent which is above 
the National Average of 70 per cent, indicating that access to transport in rural areas is 
above average (KRB, 2019). This has positive implications regarding sectors that rely on 
accessibility such as agriculture, trade and overall development. The road condition mix of 
the unpaved network at 23 per cent is a constraint to development. 
6.1.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 on transport 
With reference to the 8 point stimulus programme by the National Government8 and 
resources allocated to road development and maintenance, the County has the opportunity 
7 RAI defined : https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/rural-access-index-rai.
8 GoK eight point stimulus programme https://www.president.go.ke/2020/05/23/the-seventh-
presidential-address-on-the-coronavirus-pandemic-the-8-point-economic-stimulus-programme-
saturday-23rd-may-2020/.
56
Infrastructure
to strategically improve the road network for economic development, while creating jobs for 
youth , women and vulnerable groups as espoused in the Roads 2000 programme9 on labour 
based road development approaches. 
The Roads 10,000 programme being implemented nationally by the roads sub-sector actors, 
and specifically, the Low Volume Sealed Roads (LVSR)approach10 offers a strategic and cost-
effective approach to improve rural accessibility in the County. 
6.1.3 Emerging Issues
The cost of transportation has increased due to reduction in maximum number of passengers 
allowable in public service vehicles. The county government is rehabilitating the road 
network. 
6.1.4 Recommendations
i) Apply labour-based and local resource-based approaches for road development and 
maintenance, where technically and economically feasible, in line with the Roads 2000 
national policy11. 
ii) Focus on increasing the share of unpaved roads in good and fair condition to above 
62 per cent which is the national average. For the unpaved road network, focus on 
adopting the Low Volume Sealed Roads (LVSR) technology for greater network 
coverage cost effectively.
iii) Improve and expand infrastructure for Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) in urban 
areas and along roads with heavy-highspeed traffic to promote sustainable mobility 
options and enhance road safety for all road users. This is in line with the Integrated 
National Transport Policy 2009 and the Sustainable Development Goals12.
iv) Adopt climate smart road engineering designs to safeguard road and bridge 
infrastructure from floods and to harvest storm water for irrigation and productive use. 
Use the Kenya Urban Support Programme funding to build storm water management 
systems in urban areas.
v) Apply performance Based Contracting for road development and maintenance.
vi) Sensitize PSV and boda boda operators on COVID-19 prevention measures and assist 
vehicle owners in retrofitting the seating designs.
9 Roads 2000 programme http://krb.go.ke/our-downloads/roads per cent202000 per cent20strategic 
per cent20plan.pdf.
10 LVSR /Roads 10,000 programme https://www.kerra.go.ke/index.php/lvsr.
11 Roads 2000 programme http://krb.go.ke/our-downloads/roads per cent202000 per cent20strate-
gic per cent20plan.pdf.
12 Sustainable Mobility for All: https://sum4all.org/implementing-sdgs.
57
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Table 6.1: Transport sector COVID -19 plan 
sector issue COVID -19effects/ interventions proposed sector sector issue
impacts activities
• Sustainable • Delayed implementation • Re designing • Re negotiate • Infrastructure • Rehabilita-
& Resilient of infrastructural of infrastruc- contracts expansion to tion and 
infrastructure projects: ture projects terms for allow social expansion 
development i) Disruption in supply of implementa- huge capital distancing of roads 
• Energy factor inputs (K, L&T) tion –resched- projects – in urban 
production (Import dependence) uling flexibility centers 
and usage ii) Increased material • Promote • Rede-
costs use of local • Import sign and 
iii) Reprioritizing & re materials in substitution implement 
allocation of projects building and for priority in-
fund construction construction frastructure 
• Increased cost of • Promote materials projects that 
transport services health • Subsidize is COVID -19 
• Disruption in supply infrastructure LPG gas and resilient.
networks and travel development renewable • Construction 
restrictions • Investment in energy – and rehabili-
• Reduced demand for telecommu- (encourage tation of key 
fuel products (reduced nication and cooking & roads and 
industrial consumption) connectivity stay at home) bridges 
• Increased demand for • Review public 
digital infrastructure transport 
(Work at home) protocols 
Source: County Government of Vihiga
6.2 Information and Communication Technology
The ICT network coverage is low. The county is constructing a documentation centre to be 
used by all county government departments. 
6.2.1 Characteristics of the sector 
The analysis of the 2019 KPHC reveals that only 8.8 per cent of the conventional households 
in the county ‘own’ internet with 4.3 per cent owning a desktop, computer laptop or tablet. 
Internet access, ICT device ownership and TV ownership are particularly critical not only 
for access of COVID-19 information, but as well as supporting remote learning by the pupils 
as well as remote working, Figure 6.6. 
58
Infrastructure
Figure 6.6: Percentage distribution of conventional households by ownership 
of ICT assets KPHC 2019
Source: KNBS, 2019-Kenya Population and Housing Census 
Online shopping is not prevalent in the County. 2.2 per cent of the conventional households 
searched and bought goods/services online. There exists gender disparity in online 
shopping with more men (2.7%) than women (1.7%) undertaking online shopping. 
The perception of that the individual does not need to use the internet, lack of knowledge 
and skills on internet are the leading reasons that the people of in the County do not have 
internet connection (KHIBS). Other key factors include the lack of internet/network in the 
area, and the high cost of service and equipment, Figure 6.7. 
Figure 6.7: Why doesn’t this household have any type of Internet connection? 
KHIBS 2015/16
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
Approximately 90 per cent of the internet users in the county rely on mobile phone for 
59
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
connectivity, with a marginal population of 10 per cent relying on mobile broad band that 
uses a sim card for connectivity, figure 6.8. 
Figure 6.8: Type of internet connection
Source: ICT Data 2020
Approximately 43.1 per cent of the population aged 3 years and above own a mobile phone 
which is lower than the national average of 47.3 per cent. 
Approximately 71.5 per cent of the people in the county have a mobile money subscription 
compared with only 9.48 per cent that have a mobile money banking platform subscription 
(KHIBS 2015/16
Figure 6.9: Mobile money transfer subscription and Mobile money banking 
platform Subscription
Mobile money transfer subscription Mobile money banking platform Subscription 
KHIBS 2015/16 KHIBS 2015/16
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
The county experience gender divide in use of internet and ICT devices as well as mobile 
money subscriptions. Both internet and ICT device use is higher among the male with 15.8 
per cent of the men and 12.5 per cent of the women using Internet, while 7.5 per cent 
of the men and 5.7 per cent of the women using Desktop/Laptop/Tablet devices (KPHC 
60
Infrastructure
2019). While the usage is below the national averages, the county recorded a similar gender 
disparity with the national averages in internet and ICT usage. 
Constraints faced
• Low household ownership of internet and ICT devices limiting potential use of ICT 
for livelihood support. 
• The county has poor ICT network
• Households perceive that they do not need to use the internet, 
• Households lack knowledge and skills on internet
Linkages to other sectors
• ICT has linkages to education, public service delivery and is enabler to business 
continuity during the pandemic and other disaster or emergency situations. 
6.2.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in the sector
• Working with the national government to connect the county to the fiber network under 
the NFOBI programme. 
6.2.3 Recommendations
i) Support programmes in partnership with the private sector that will enable 
households acquire ICT assets such as smart phones and laptops and increase mobile 
phone ownership from 43.1 per cent to 100 per cent in line with the global agenda for 
Universal Access to Mobile Telephony13 
ii) Speed up the construction of fiber-optic broadband networks in underdeveloped 
areas and improve the enthusiasm of telecom companies to upgrade and improve the 
communication networks in remote areas. Adopt programmes to ensure ubiquitous 
access to reliable and affordable internet (internet everywhere) by applying aerial 
and satellite-based communication technologies. 
iii) Harness the power of technology and use innovative solutions to bridge the gender 
digital divide. Negotiate with the public primary schools for community access to ICT 
infrastructure and collaboratively build and equip youth empowerment, ICT centres 
and ICT laboratories as provided in the CIDP. The IT personnel in public primary 
schools can be deployed to support the development of ICT competence and skills 
among the public. 
iv) Enhance internet connectivity to public buildings and key trade centres to boost 
13 Universal access to mobile telephony: http://www.itu.int/itunews/manager/display.asp?lang=en&
year=2007&issue=07&ipage=universal-telephony
61
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
e-commerce especially for MSMEs in trade and business. The NOFBI programme 
can be expanded to the sub-county administrative units to further enable deployment 
of e-governance solutions.
v) Make ICT a standalone sector for planning and budget allocation. This is aimed at 
giving strategic prominence to planning, budgeting and investment in ICT. 
vi) Review and implement ICT policies and procedures to manage ICT and mitigate cyber 
threats, disasters and pandemics. Collaborate with the national Computer Incident 
Response Team (CIRT) and the Communications Authority (CA) towards managing 
cyber threats. This is because enhanced use of ICT is known to raise threats and risks 
related to cyber-crime and misinformation. 
62
7.  Housing and Urban Development 
Affordable housing has not been implemented in the county only a few selected vulnerable 
groups that have had their houses upgraded by the county from thatched houses to 
hospitable homes. Approximately 25 selected homes benefit per year. 
There are five urban centres in the County with a total population of 47.9 per cent males 
and 52.1 per cent females, table 7.1. The urban land area covers 27 square kilometers with 
a population density of 2152 persons per sq.km 
Table 7.1: Distribution of population by Urban Centers by gender
COUNTY URBAN CENTRE TOTAL MALE FEMALE
Vihiga Mbale 17,404 8,263 9,141
Vihiga Luanda 13,319 6,354 6,963
Vihiga Chavakali 12,674 6,073 6,601
Vihiga Majengo 11,913 5,785 6,128
Vihiga/Nandi Serem 3,984 1,923 2,061
Source: KNBS, 2019- Kenya Population and Housing Census 
7.1 Characteristics of the Sector
The housing tenure is predominantly owner occupied at 88.1 per cent, with 11.9 per cent of 
the households under rental tenure. Individuals are the primary providers of rental housing 
at 91.0 per cent, followed by National Government (3.3 per cent); and Private Companies 
(2.4 per cent); For those who own homes, 96.6 per cent constructed the houses while 0.5 
per cent purchased the house and 2.9 per cent inherited their homes (KNBS, 2019). 
Figure 7.1: Distribution of households renting/ Provided with the main 
dwelling unit by provider
Source: KNBS, 2019 -Kenya Population and Housing Census 
63
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Majority of households are headed by men (58.2%) compared to women (41.8%) in the 
County (KIHBS, 2015/16). 
Housing quality 
On average, the main dwellings of houses in the County have 3.7 habitable rooms against 
an average household size of 5.05 persons in a household, translating to approximately 
1.36 people per room. According to the UN-Habitat, overcrowding occurs when there are 
more than three people per room14. In terms of housing quality (building material), 31.93 
per cent of houses are constructed using finished materials for walls, floor and roofing 
compared to 68.07 per cent constructed using rudimentary materials (KIHBS, 2015/16). 
Majority of households (97.4%) have iron sheets for roofing, mud/cow dung walls (70.4%) 
and dung floors (50.7 per cent) (KNBS, 2019). 
Rent payment 
On average, rental households spend approximately Ksh 4637 on rent with a minimum of 
Ksh 1,000 and the maximum of Ksh 15,000 (KNBS, 2020b). The county recorded a rent 
to income ratio of 14.62 per cent, which is within the acceptable threshold of 30 per cent 
(KNBS, 2012/13). 
Figure 7.2: Has your household paid the rent for April 2020 on the agreed date
Source: KNBS COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020 wave 2
With the advent of COVID-19 pandemic, households’ ability to pay rent has been affected, 
with 63.66 per cent of the population indicating inability to pay rent on the agreed date for 
April 2020, Figure 7.2, compared to 20.67 per cent of the population that were able to pay 
rent on the agreed date and 42.7 per cent who paid rent on agreed date before COVID-19 
pandemic, Figure 7.3. 
14 Household crowding measure: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535289/table/ch3.
tab2/#:~:text=Overcrowding per cent20occurs per cent20if per cent20there per cent20are,per per 
cent20habitable per cent20room per cent20(88).&text=Crowding per cent20occurs per cent20if per 
cent20there per cent20is, per cent2Drooms) per cent20(89).
64
Housing and urban development
Figure 7.3: Was the household paying rent on the agreed date with the landlord 
before COVID-19?
Source: KNBS COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020 wave 2
The main reason that has made households unable to pay rent was attributed to reduced 
incomes /earnings, reported by 53.97 per cent of the population. The inability to pay rent 
was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic by 100 per cent of the population, Figure 7.4. 
Figure 7.4: What is the MAIN reason that has made your household unable to 
pay rent?
Source: KNBS COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020 wave 2
Majority of the households (45.99 per cent) did not receive a waiver or relief on payment of 
rent from the landlord, with 7.27 per cent reporting a partial waiver and 0 per cent reporting 
a full waiver. To overcome the effects of Corona virus on payment on rent, majority 23.52 
per cent of households renegotiated rent terms, while 35.29 per cent of households did not 
take any measures. Approximately 3.19 per cent used personal savings to pay rent, Figure 
7.5. 
65
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Figure 7.5: What measures has your household taken to overcome the effects 
of Corona Virus – rent
Source: KNBS COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020 wave 2
Regarding primary energy source for cooking, 92.11 per cent of households rely on unclean 
sources of energy for cooking such as firewood, paraffin and charcoal, which could adversely 
affect respiratory health of women and children. 
Constraints faced
• Household inability to pay rent due to livelihood shocks
• Construction of affordable housing units is planned, but no projects has started yet. 
7.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 on urban development 
• Existing stock of owner-occupied homes that can be improved using finished building 
materials for roofing, walls and floors. 
7.3 Emerging issues
• There are households that occupy dwellings constructed using rudimentary materials.
• The county is implementing a programme to support vulnerable households by 
replacing their grass thatched houses. Currently constructing 25 houses per year
7.4 Recommendations
i) Fast-track implementation of the affordable housing programme with a focus on 
improving living conditions and building quality applying finished materials for 
walls, floors and roofing.
ii) Avail appropriate building technology for use by the public in house construction and 
improvement in every sub-county, that responds to local cultural and environmental 
circumstances. 
66
Housing and urban development
iii) Identify and designate urban centres for upgrade pursuant to provisions of the Urban 
Areas and Cities (amendment) Act, 2019.
iv) Formulate and seek approval of urban development plans and development control 
policies to support investment and development of urban areas.
v) Adopt programmes aimed at an increasing household access to clean energy sources 
and technologies for cooking to mitigate against exposure to respiratory diseases.
Table 7.2: Lands, Housing and Urban Development COVID-19 plan 
Sector Sector Issue COVID -19 INTERVEN- PRO- Sector Sector 
EFFECTS/ TIONS POSED Issue
IMPACTS ACTIVI-
TIES
Urban De- • Population • Increased in- • GIS Mapping • Master • Hous- • Data 
velopment surge formal urban and spatial plan for ing mapping 
planning settlements planning for physical regula- of popu-
and Lands (slums) physical infra- develop- tions on lation 
• Physical structure ment of lighting distribu-
planning critical and tion, 
approvals • Congestion public aera- trends 
in urban • Digitization utilities tion and use 
places and of land of of physi-
public fa- transactions cal public 
cilities (virus facilities 
contagion 
risks) 
• Delays in 
construction 
approvals 
(in light of 
COVID -19) 
Source: County Government of Vihiga
67
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
8. Tourism
8.1 Characteristic of the Sector 
The main tourist attractions in Vihiga County include nature-based tourism (Maragoli and 
Bunyore Hills, Mungoma Caves ideal for adventure, hiking and ecotourism); Cultural and 
heritage tourism (the county also has a rich culture which can create an opportunity for the 
development of cultural tourism, as well as diverse talent for sports and celebrity tourism; 
the Rainmakers Shrines at Esibila, and Wagevere Rocks embossed with ‘footprints of 
Jesus’ in Matsigulu); Agro-tourism and ecotourism (Kibiri and Kaimosi forest complex; 
Mudete Tea Factory and Wetland); and medical tourism (visiting herbalists and traditional 
medicine men). 
There are no star-rated hotel facilities in Vihiga County. However, there are 7 registered 
hotels that are easily accessible and distributed across the county. There is great opportunity 
to invest in luxury hotels to tap into the high-end tourist market, and campsites to target 
backpackers and adventure tourists.
The main tourist attractions in Vihiga County include the following: 
• Physical attractions / nature-based tourism: 
• Maragoli and Bunyore Hills, Mungoma Caves ideal for adventure, hiking and 
ecotourism
• Cultural and heritage tourism: 
• The county also has a rich culture which can create an opportunity for the development 
of cultural tourism, as well as diverse talent for sports and celebrity tourism.
• The Rainmakers Shrines at Esibila, and Wagevere Rocks embossed with ‘footprints of 
Jesus’ in Matsigulu.
• Agro-tourism and ecotourism: 
• Kibiri and Kaimosi Forest Complex
• Mudete Tea Factory and Wetland
• Medical tourism: visiting herbalists and traditional medicine men 
There are no star-rated hotel facilities in Vihiga County. There are several hotels, easily 
accessible and distributed across the county. They include Sosa Cottages, Roddy’s Green 
Lounge, Broadpark Hotel, Hemara Hotel, Hermoso Hotel, Mago Guest House and Luanda 
Oasis Hotel. There is great opportunity to invest in luxury hotels to tap into the high-end 
tourist market, and campsites to target backpackers and adventure tourists
68
Tourism
The raw materials for tourism in Vihiga County are physical attractions, culture and heritage 
assets While the key product and services include the Nature-based tourism, culture and 
heritage tourism. 
Constraints faced 
• Key annual cultural festivals in the county were postponed due to the COVID-19 
pandemic. 
• Inadequate entrepreneurial skills, limited land space, inadequate physical 
infrastructure and limited access to credit facilities are the main challenges that 
impede the development of this sector.
• Gender inequality limits women participation in the tourism sector. 
• Untapped tourism potential 
• Inadequate investors in the tourism and recreation sector. 
• Declining Cultural heritage 
• Inadequate resources 
• Lack of knowledge and skills at local level for tourism development 
• Natural forest with plenty of fauna and flora; the youth are destroying it in search for 
charcoal and timber due to unemployment – hence the county government need to 
scale up control measures. 
• Exact number of jobs that have been lost in the tourism sector due to the pandemic is 
not known.
8.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in tourism sector
• Improving sanitation aspects in tourism attraction sites and accommodation 
facilities. 
• Promoting domestic and business / M.I.C.E tourism 
8.3 Emerging Issues 
• Sanitation as a key component in ensuring business continuity in the tourism sector; 
Accommodation facilities that will meet the re-opening measures for hospitality 
sector are likely to recover faster from the effects of the pandemic, since tourist – both 
domestic and foreign – will be concerned about their safety (in terms of contracting 
the pandemic) first. 
69
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
8.4 Recommendations 
Re-engineering tourism sector in the county will include: 
i) Enforcing high sanitation standards at tourism accommodation and attraction sites; 
sanitation is emerging as a key component in ensuring business continuity in the 
tourism sector. Accommodation facilities that will meet the re-opening measures for 
hospitality sector are likely to recover faster from the effects of the pandemic, since 
tourist – both domestic and foreign – will be concerned about their safety (in terms 
of contracting the pandemic) first. 
ii) Tourism infrastructure development: construction of roads to cultural sites; establish 
a recreation park; rehabilitate tourist sites; construct a county conference centre; 
establish tourist sites at Maragoli hills, Bunyore hills and Kaimosi forest. Mungoma 
Caves, Mudete Wetland, Kibiri Forest, Esibila.
iii) Sensitize the community on the importance of conserving the environment and cultural 
heritage; establish a tourism information documentation centre; Build capacity 
among community organizations on tourism management and entrepreneurship. 
Promote community Based Tourism Organizations.
iv) Promote establishment of tourist hotels, resorts and equipped cultural centres. 
v) Mobilize resources for tourism, advocate for PPP programs in the sector. 
vi) Strengthen tourism marketing, branding and promotion.
vii) Coordination of implementation of the budget of the county government.
viii) Resource mobilization for investments in the tourism sector, e.g. PPP projects. 
70
9.  Health 
9.1 Characteristics of the Sector
General health provision in the County
The county has one public county referral facility, Vihiga County Hospital at Mbale. The 
other major health facility is Jumuia Hospital in Kaimosi. There are three level 4 facilities 
in Sabatia, Hamisi and Emuhaya. There are also 18 health centres, 32 dispensaries and 34 
private and mission-based facilities. The average distance to the nearest facility is 5km. The 
county doctor to population ratio is 1:11,840 against the national doctors to population of 
1:16,520. The county nurse to population ratio is 1:1,947. The County Government intends 
to recruit more nurses to address the gap to move towards the required international 
standard of 1:1,000. 
Table 9.1: Health provision
Year 2018 2019/20
Health facility density   
Primary health facilities 79 122
Hospitals 8 10
Number of health facilities 87 132
Health facility density 1.5 1.9
Bed density   
Hospital beds 866 873
No. of Beds per 10,000 population 13 13
Human resource density   
Total workforce 736 1,749
Human Resources for Health (Technical) 639 911
Number per 10,000 population 12.3 15.0
Source: Ministry of Health (2021)
In 2019/2020, the number of health facilities in the county were 132 which comprised of 
122 primary health facilities and 10 hospitals. This was an improvement from a total of 87 
health facilities in the previous year, 2018. The number of beds per 10,000 population is 
13 as compared to WHO recommendation of 30 beds per 10, 000 population. The health 
facilities and personnel serve a growing population of  590,013 people according 2019 
census. In 2019/20, total health workforce was approximately 1,749 representing 15 health 
workers per 10,000 population which is below the WHO target of 23 health workers per 
10,000
71
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Table 9.2: Percentage distribution of the population that reported sickness/
injury by type of health provider in Vihiga County (%)
Type of Health Provider Percentage Distribution of the 
Population
Government hospital 10.0
Government health centre 22.2
Government dispensary 38.7
Faith Based (church, Mission) Hospital / Clinic 8.8
Community Health 2.0
Private hospital / clinic 16.6
Nursing/ Maternity Home 0.0
Pharmacy/ chemist 0.8
Community health worker 1.1
Shop/ Kiosk 2.7
Traditional healer 1.1
Faith healer 0.2
Herbalist 0.2
Other 0.3
Number of Individuals (‘000) 142
Source: KIHBS 2015/2016
Table 9.2 presents the distribution of population reported to have been sick or injured and 
the type of health provider they visited. Majority of the County residents who reported illness 
visited government dispensaries at 38.7 per cent followed by those who visited government 
health centres and private hospitals at 22 per cent and 16.6 per cent, respectively. About 
10 per cent visited government hospitals, while 8.8 per cent visited Faith Based (church, 
Mission) Hospital / Clinic.
Population with health insurance cover
The percentage distribution of the population with health insurance cover by type 
of insurance provider is presented in Table 9.3. In general, 14.3 per cent of the county 
population had some form of health insurance cover. The National Hospital Insurance 
Fund (NHIF) was the leading health insurance provider reported by 94.8 per cent of the 
population. Employer contributory insurance cover was reported by 1.0 per cent of the 
population. Private contributions to insurance cover were reported by 3.1 per cent of the 
population.
Table 9.3: Percentage distribution of the county’s population with health 
insurance cover by type of health insurance provider (%)
Source of Health Insurance Percentage Distribution of the 
Population (%)
Population (‘000) 627
72
Health
Share of population with health insurance (%) 14.3
 NHIF 94.8
 Private-Contributory 3.1
 Private-Non-Contributory 1.8
 Employer-Contributory 1.0
 Employer-Non-Contributory 2.7
 Other 0.0
Number of Individuals (‘000) 89
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
Place of delivery
In the 2015/16 KIHBS, women in Vihiga County were asked the place where children aged 
5 years and below were delivered. Table 9.4 shows the percentage distribution of children 
by place of delivery, in the county. About 24.8 per cent of children were delivered at home 
which is below the national percentage of 31.3 per cent. The proportion of children born 
in hospitals, health centres, dispensary/clinics was 42.9 per cent, 22 per cent, and 6.9 per 
cent respectively. 
Table 9.4: Proportion of Children aged 0-59 Months by Place of Delivery ( per 
cent)
Place of Delivery Proportion of Children aged 0-59 Months 
by place of delivery ( per cent)
Hospital 42.9
Health Centre 22.0
Clinic/ Dispensary 6.9
Maternity Home 1.1
At Home 24.8
Other 0.3
Not stated 2.0
Number of Individuals (‘000) 68
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
Immunization for children 
The 2015/16 KIHBS covered data on measles immunization for children below 5 years at; 
9 months (Measles I) and at 18 months (Measles II). The information was collected from 
vaccination cards where they were available while mother’s recall was used where the card 
was not available. Table 9.5 presents information on the proportion of children immunized 
(from vaccination cards) against measles. The analysis focused on children aged 12-23 
months (or one year). The county had 57.3 per cent of the children aged 12-23 months 
were fully immunized against measles at 9 months while 8.1 per cent were fully immunized 
against measles at 18 month.
73
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Table 9.5: Proportion of children aged 0-59 months immunized against 
measles 
Proportion of 
Children
Vaccination Card Yes Seen 73.6
Yes, Not Seen 23.6
No 2.0
Not stated 0.8
Measles Vaccination Measles I (At 9 months Card) 57.3
Measles II (At 18 months Card) 8.1
Measles II (Mother/ Guardian 
memory) 21.8
Either (card or memory) 79.1
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
Health outputs
The commonest causes of morbidity and mortality in the county includes Malaria, HIV and 
AIDS related illness, upper and lower tract infections, and diabetes, hypertension, cancer, 
diarrhea and skin diseases. HIV prevalence rate is 4.7 per cent against the national figure 
of 5.6 per cent. The most infected age group the age bracket is of 15-49 years with women 
being the most affected. Malaria prevalence rate is 27 per cent, diarrhoea 5.4 per cent, 
respiratory diseases (upper and lower), and skin diseases 19.3 per cent. The high prevalence 
of malaria can be attributed to the fact that 43.2 per cent of children less than 5 years do 
not sleep under treated mosquito nets. Other factors that contribute to morbidity include 
consumption of contaminated food and water, adverse weather conditions, poor nutrition 
as well as accidents involving motorcycles and assaults related injuries. 
Malnutrition is an outcome of complex interaction of many factors which include disease, 
childcare, and food intake. The interactions of these factors lead to stunting, wasting and 
conditions of micronutrient deficiencies in children. In the county, 5.9 per cent of the total 
population of children under the age of five are underweight, 23.5 per cent are stunted and 
2.6 per cent have wasting condition. 
Immunization of children is crucial to reducing infant and child mortality. The 
immunization coverage for the county for the children under 5 is 94.4 per cent according 
to KDHS 2014. The maternal mortality ratio in the county is 344 per 100,000 live births 
against the national 362 per 100,000 while infant mortality is 60 per 1000 lives. This could 
be attributed to many incidences of home deliveries common in the county, inaccessibility 
to health facilities, deliveries by untrained birth attendants and inadequate medical staff 
and equipment.
74
Health
Table 9.6: Health indicators in Vihiga County
Key Health Indicators County Estimates
Maternal and Child Services  
Skilled delivery ( per cent) 50.3
Children born at home 47
Fully immunized child 94.4
Child Mortality  
Infant mortality (*/1000) 60
Under-5 mortality (*/1000) 0
Neo-natal mortality (*/1000) 0
Nutrition Status  
Stunted children ( per cent) 23.5
Wasted children ( per cent) 2.6
Underweight children ( per cent) 5.9
HIV ( per cent)  
HIV adult prevalence ( per cent) 5.4
Children with HIV(No.) 0
ART adult coverage ( per cent) 72
ART children coverage ( per cent) 86
Source: KDHS 2014, KIHBS 2015/16
Vihiga county has Kaimosi Friends University college and several vocational training 
centres where the youths attain skills. These includes Boyani Vocational Training centre, 
Ebusiralo Vocational Training centre, Friends college Kaimosi Institute of technology, 
Givigoi Vocational Training centre, Keveye Vocational Training centre, Maseno youth 
polytechnic, Muhundu Vocational Training centre, and Nzalwa vocational training centres. 
According to 2014 KDH, total fertility rate for the county was 4.5 children per woman in 
2014. This is above the national average of 3.9 per woman. The report further indicates that 
only 60 per cent of the married women were using contraception compared to 58 per cent 
nationally. The proportion of births assisted by a skilled provider is 50 per cent compared 
to national average of 62 per cent. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the county is 3.8 per 
cent compared to the national rate of 6.4 per cent. About 90 per cent of the children 12-23 
months in the county are fully vaccinated.
The county realized 110 per cent increase in collection from health care services in 2017/18 
of 16.3 million as compared to 15m in 2016/17. This was attributed to the less strikes 
experienced during this period of nurses and doctors as compared to 2016/17 Financial 
Year. Due to COVID-19, many people are fearing to visit health centres in fear of infection 
with the virus. However, the county is undertaking awareness to dissuade the fears among 
the public most of whom had stopped going to the hospital thus cutting the revenue stream. 
75
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Vihiga County has many active youth groups, having high literacy level among them. 
However, there is little evidence to show that they undertake regular self-evaluation 
process. This explains low uptake of new initiatives that could otherwise contribute to 
their personal and social growth. The county government has set aside funds for the youth 
willing to join TVETS to learn life skills. The TVETs are in the process of being equipped 
to enable the youths gain more knowledge in different fields and build a more thorough 
human resource capital.
Other problems facing youths includes teenage pregnancies, malnutrition, STI/HIV and 
Aids, poor environment, drug and substance abuse and malnutrition. High cases of STIs 
and HIV are due to cultural practices and initiation in the Moran where young people are 
prepared to adulthood and marriage. The young men are put under pressure to engage in 
unprotected sex with multiple partners. The case is no different for young, circumcised 
girls who are under pressure to have sex and get married. Teenage pregnancies are as a 
result of harmful cultural practices which encourages young boys and girls to engage in sex 
after the circumcision. Young girls are married to old men immediately after circumcision. 
This leads to majority of girls dropping out of school after getting pregnancy. 
Drug abuse has also caused major damages to the young people who indulge in it due to 
peer pressure. This leads to mental health problems hence dropping out of school and other 
getting involved in crimes and other social evils such as prostitution. Malnutrition was 
attributed to high poverty levels in the county whereby people cannot afford food of good 
nutrients. There is also poor sanitation and lack of water. This catalyze the spread of other 
diseases such as typhoid and cholera which are causes of morbidity and mortality rates in 
the county.
The above challenges can be addressed which will help restore the health and education 
sector. That is by introducing guidance and counselling among the youths, expanding 
school feeding programmes, starting campaigns against drugs and substance abuse, 
Provision of clean water, free sanitary pads issuance and health education that promotes 
positive cultural practices.
Health sector is linked to the agricultural sector, the education sector as well as trade. There 
is a direct proportionality between education and health. The high the education level of 
members of the county, the healthier they are. High level of education reduces instances 
of disease outbreaks due to ignorance. This particularly reduces health diseases such as 
sexually transmitted among the youths and adults. 
Advancement in ICT also helps improve health sector. This is because with ICT, it is easy 
to scan for diseases and manage the treatment. With advancement in ICT, it is possible to 
do diagnosis to patients and treat them promptly. A good example is the scan for pregnant 
mothers and cancer patients. Some countries such as Rwanda, drones are being used 
to deliver bloods. This is helping in mortality rate reduction. Good water and sewerage 
facilities also contributes greatly in reduction of diseases such as cholera, typhoid and other 
waterborne. This is because my maintaining good hygiene such as washing hands after 
visiting toilets, washing fruits before eating and boiling/treating drinking water. 
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Health
Good disposal of waste by avoiding open defecation and using toilets also helps reduce 
spread of diseases spread through human waste. Agriculture sector also plays a key 
role in ensuring that people get balanced diet and good nutrition. This reduces cases of 
malnutrition and stunted growth among children due to lack of certain nutrients and 
vitamins. Agriculture also serves as a source of revenue and employment mostly for the 
females. This reduces cases of family conflicts and stress, hence reducing mental diseases.
Effects of COVID-19
As of 27th July 2020, Vihiga county has been one of the counties with the lowest numbers of 
confirmed reported positive cases with the numbers being 12 cases among its population of 
590,013 residents amidst national 17,975 (Ministry of Health situational report) bringing 
the cases per 100,000 population to be at 2. According to the latest report by the council 
of governors, Vihiga county has been noted among the 12 counties to attain the required 
number of isolation beds with the county having a capacity of 300 isolation beds.
The county has employed additional 300 health co-workers to meet the growing demand 
for health services. The county is ensuring sustained medical supplies at the health centres. 
Promoted health insurance coverage for expectant women, maternal health care. Universal 
Health Care has also been promoted by the county government. The number of beds in 
isolation centre haven been increased. The county has suspended hospital charges and 
people encouraged to go for COVID-19 testing free of charge; however, turn out has been 
low due to fear. There is already re-allocation of Ksh 28 million to health sector to procure 
the PPE and other items with each department contributing Ksh 1 million. The county 
further suspended all county government meetings; gatherings; travelling
Due to of COVID-19 fear, have avoided going to the hospital and this has had direct 
implication on generation of revenues by the health department. The fear might also lead 
to emergence of diseases that had been controlled such as those that could have been 
controlled through immunization. Medical personnel shortage is another challenge that 
is likely to derail delivery of health services. Lack of enough ICU beds and PPEs are also 
hindrances to the success of fight against COVID-19 in the county. 
Various sectors such as the private sectors laid off their workers, the informal sectors have 
been adversely affected with many rendered jobless. The county workers were working 
from home in adherence to government directives. The county has also recruited more 
health workers who have been trained adequately on management of COVID-19 cases. 
A survey done by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics showed that the share of the 
population that had doctor or healthcare provider testing or confirming to them the status 
in regards COVID-19 was estimated at 2.9 per cent in 2020 (COVID-19, Wave 2 survey). 
This small number shows that there is a large population of people in the county who have 
not yet been tested for COVID-19. Further, 2.9 per cent of the population indicated that 
at least one household member had failed to seek health services and 91.9 per cent of the 
population indicated they were willing to be tested if there was mass testing for COVID-19.
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Figure 9.1: COVID-19 testing, 2020
Source: COVID-19 Wave 2 (June 2020)
9.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in Health Sector
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen the health sector improved implying the availability of 
more health facilities in the county and more budgetary allocation for the same which is 
significant for the sector. It has also created awareness on the need to improve the capacity 
of the TVET institutions which had also been useful in finding local solution to production 
of requisite protective gears. COVID-19 had also enhanced the use of technology in 
transacting various county business online. COVID-19 has also contributed to the ICT 
development where meetings are being held virtually without physical contacts. Security 
has also improved in the area due to restricted movement and curfew. It has also created 
cooperation opportunities among the counties especially the LOREB block.
9.3 Emerging Issues
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for isolation centres, admission beds, 
ICU and HDU beds. It has also overstretched the existing health facilities. Additionally, 
with spread of pandemic across counties it has created fear among the residents and some 
of them have opted not to visit the hospital in fear of contracting the virus.
The outbreak of the virus has caused the county to reprioritize its health sector priorities 
and some preventative and promotive health services such: malaria control; expanded 
programmes on immunization; integrated management of childhood illness; and control 
and prevention of environmentally communicable diseases have been affected to some 
extent. 
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Health
9.4 Recommendations
Following the current health status in the county and factoring in the trend in key health 
sector indicators, the county should adopt the following recommendations:
(i) The county to revamp, expand, modernize and equip health facilities, including, 
Vihiga County Hospital and Jumuia hospital and promote training and recruiting 
adequate number of human resources for health to enable health centres provide 
equitable essential services throughout an emergency, limiting direct mortality and 
avoiding increased indirect mortality due to COVID-19.
(ii) The county to strengthen preventative and promotive health services through 
malaria control; expanded programmes on immunization; integrated management 
of childhood illness; and control and prevention of environmentally communicable 
diseases.
(iii) The county should provide enough water collection points and water use facilities in 
the health care facilities to allow convenient access to, and use of, water for medical 
activities, drinking, personal hygiene, food preparation, laundry and cleaning, also 
include safe and sustainable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, and nutrition 
support initiatives in relevant health policies, strategies and programmes. Mbale 
town will be given priority in water provision since it hosts key referral hospital 
among other institutions.
(iv) The county to create awareness on availability and importance of free maternity 
services and address other constraints to access of maternal health services in the 
county while addressing fear of contracting COVID-19 in event of visiting any health 
facility. This can be done through recruiting voluntary health community workers 
who are given a stipend at the end of the month.
(v) Recruit and train more health workers so that they can offer services to all Vihiga County 
residents without much strain. This will help improve county doctor to population 
ratio is which currently stand at 1:11,840 against the WHO recommendation of 1:230. 
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
10. Education and Training
10.1  Characteristics of the Sector
General Education Provision in the County
The number of early childhood centres was 852, primary schools was 475, secondary 
schools 157, adult learning centres 107 and technical and vocational training centres 31 in 
2007. During the same period, KMTC and Kaimosi University Colleges were established at 
Mbale and Kaimosi respectively adding to the existing tertiary colleges, namely Ebunangwe 
University Campus, Friends Kaimosi Institute of Technology, Vihiga, St Joseph’s, Goibei 
and Kaimosi Teachers Colleges. The National Government and other development partners 
have embarked on the establishment of Vihiga University College at Vokoli in Sabatia Sub-
County.
Gross Attendance Ratio (GAR) and Net Attendance Ratio (NAR)
The Gross Attendance Rate (GAR) for pre-primary school was 90.9 per cent while that of 
primary school and secondary school was 112.9 and 75.3 per cent respectively in 2015/16 
(Table 10.1). 
Gross Attendance Ratio (GAR) represents the total number of persons attending school 
regardless of their age, expressed as a percentage of the official school age population for 
a specific level of education. The GAR for pre-primary school was higher for females, 97.1 
per cent, compared to that for male, 85 per cent. The GAR for primary school was higher 
for male, 114 per cent, compared to that for female, 111.5 per cent. The GAR for secondary 
school was higher for males, 77.2 per cent, compared to that for females, 73.2 per cent. 
Net Attendance Ratio (NAR) is the total number of persons in the official school age group 
attending a specific education level to the total population in that age group. Table 10.1 
shows that total NAR for pre-primary, primary and secondary school was 61.4 per cent, 
89.7 per cent and 42.3 per cent, respectively
Table 10.1 : Gross Attendance Ratio and Net Attendance Ratio by Educational 
Level in Vihiga County
Education Level Gender Gross Attendance Ratio Net Attendance Ratio
Pre-Primary School Male 85 68.0
Female 97.1 54.2
Total 90.9 61.4
Primary School Male 114 92.9
Female 111.5 85.9
Total 112.9 89.7
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Education and training
Secondary School Male 77.2 43.2
Female 73.2 41.4
Total 75.3 42.3
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
Basic education gross and net enrolment rate 
The pre-primary gross enrolment rate in the county was 102.1 per cent in 2019 and while 
the net enrolment rate was 61.7 per cent. The Gross Primary and Secondary enrolment 
rates stood at 116 per cent and 76.9 per cent respectively in 2018 while the Net enrolment 
rates (NER) were 85.4 per cent and 40.6 per cent for primary school and secondary school 
respectively during the same period.
Table 10.2: Gross and net enrolment rate ( per cent), 2019
Preprimary Total
Gross Enrollment rate (GER) ( per cent) 102.1
Net Enrollment rate (NER) ( per cent) 61.7
Gender parity index 0.98
Primary  
Gross Enrollment rate (GER)( per cent) 116
Net Enrollment rate (NER) ( per cent) 85.4
Gender parity index 0.96
Secondary  
Gross Enrollment rate (GER) ( per cent) 76.9
Net Enrollment rate (NER) ( per cent) 40.6
Gender parity index 1.11
Source: Education statistical booklets 2014-2018
Enrolments in early childhood education improved since 2013 with current enrolment of 
41,278. This can be attributed to improved access to ECD infrastructure and awareness 
campaigns on ECDE. Enrolment in primary schools has also steadily increased over the last 
four years (2013-17). The increase in enrolment was due to free primary education policy. 
Despite the improved enrolments and gender parity in primary schools, an emerging 
trend of low retention and high dropout remains a challenge in the county. Enrolment 
in secondary schools has also improved since 2013 with gender parity index of 1:1, other 
achievement includes the increase in the number of secondary schools. 82.1 per cent of 
the adult population in county are literate. However, there is need to promote continued 
learning in the wake of emerging technology. Enrolment in public vocational training 
centre remains low at a current figure of 2,890 due to the perception that it is only failures 
that are expected to enroll in these centres or polytechnics.
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Literacy 
The analysis of literacy is based on respondents’ self-assessment as no reading and 
writing tests were administered during the data collection. Further it was assumed that 
anybody with secondary level of schooling and above could read and write. The percentage 
distribution of population aged 15 years and above by ability to read and write is presented 
in Table 10.3. The proportion of literate population in the county was 88.5 per cent with the 
male population being more literate (91.3 per cent) compared to their female counterparts 
(86 per cent).
Table 10.3: Percentage Distribution of Population aged 15 Years and above by 
Ability to Read and Write ( per cent)
Ability to Read and Write Percentage 
Distribution ( per 
cent)
Overall county Literate 88.5
Illiterate 10
Not Stated 1.5
Number of Individuals (‘000) 367
Male Literate 91.3
Illiterate 7.9
Not Stated 0.8
Number of Individuals (‘000) 171
Female Literate 86
Illiterate 11.9
Not Stated 2.1
Number of Individuals (‘000) 196
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
Educational Attainment 
The distribution of population aged 3 years and above by educational qualification attained 
is presented in Table 10.4. Approximately 55.2 per cent of the population do not have any 
educational qualification. This is high than the national percentage of 49.7. Only 0.9 per 
cent of the population has attained university degree. The proportion of the population 
with CPE/KCPE qualification is 26.2 per cent and that of KCE/ KCSE qualification is 8.9 
per cent. 
Table 10.4: Percentage Distribution of Population by Highest Educational 
Qualification
Highest Educational Qualification Percentage Distribution of 
Population
82
Education and training
None 55.2
CPE/ KCPE 26.2
KAPE 0.4
KJSE 0.5
KCE/ KCSE 8.9
KACE/ EAACE 0.2
Certificate 3
Diploma 1.9
Degree 0.9
Basic/post literacy certificate 0
Other 0.2
Not Stated 2.3
Number of individuals (‘000) 555
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
Percentage distribution of Vihiga County residents aged 3 years and above who had ever 
attended school by the highest level reached, and sex is presented in 10.5. The proportion 
of males who had reached primary school level was 58.7 per cent while that of females was 
61.2 per cent. Except for primary school level and college (middle level), the proportion of 
males who had reached other levels of education were comparatively higher than females. 
For instance, for all persons who reported to have attended school, 9.5 per cent of males 
and 8.4 per cent females had reached pre-primary school level in the County. There was 
a high disparity between the proportion of persons who had reached university education 
level, with male recording a higher percentage than female at 2 per cent and 1 per cent, 
respectively.
Table 10.5: Percentage Distribution of Residents 3 Years and above who had 
ever Attended School by Highest Level Reached, and Sex for Vihiga County (%)
Educational Level Gender Percentage Distribution of Population 3 
Years and above
Pre-primary Male 9.5
Female 8.4
Primary Male 58.7
Female 61.2
Post primary vocational Male 1
Female 0.9
Secondary Male 19.5
Female 22.8
College (Middle level) Male 6.1
Female 3.1
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
University Male 2
Female 1
Madrassa / Duksi Male 0.2
Female 0.1
Other Male 0.5
Female 0.4
Not Stated Male 2.5
Female 2.1
Number of Individuals Male 278
(‘000) Female 277
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
Slums in town are highly congested with so many school going children living there. 
Children in rural areas are not able to access virtual classes. The county is consulting 
with the education team at county level on possible reopening and preparation measures. 
Children are out of school, and this has increased the risk of child pregnancy. The county 
has also involved the students in the TVET institutions to develop hand washing booths 
which have been distributed in the informal settlements. 
Loss of jobs due to COVID-19 has severely affected the education sector in the county. 
Private schools could not sustain the salary for their employees, both teaching and support 
staffs (casuals). Public schools have also faced challenges in making payment for the other 
expenses such as electricity and security bills. This because the national government had 
not released money to the schools. Apart from the other expenses, public schools cannot 
pay teachers who were hired on contracts and were under BOMs.
Floods affected half of the ECDEs centers and most of the primary schools were turned 
into evacuation centres. Some schools affected by floods were adversely damaged and 
their renovations will be needed before the schools reopen. Currently, there is no enough 
classroom space to maintain the social distancing measures even as schools prepare to 
reopen in September. Slums in town are highly congested and there so many school going 
children living in those slums. Children in rural areas are not able to access virtual classes. 
The county is consulting with the education team at county level on possible reopening and 
preparation measures. Children are out of school, and this has increased the risk of child 
pregnancy. The county has also involved the students in the TVET institutions to developed 
hand washing booths which have been distributed in the informal settlements. 
With the many cases of gander-based violence recorded, the county is working on 
domesticating the child protection policy in addition to the construction of a rescue centre 
at Hamisi. Youth unemployment is becoming a concern. The county is currently developing 
sporting infrastructure (3 stadiums) that will help youths to pursue their talents. The 
county is domesticating the child protection and development policy, whose issues are 
crosscutting; There is need to look at policies related to gender mainstreaming in the wake 
of COVID-19 pandemic. GBV and youth unemployment cases are also high in the county. 
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Education and training
COVID-19 has worsened the situation to an extent of forcing the closure of schools. Most 
of the children are now at home idle since no learning taking place. This has contributed 
to increased cases of pregnancies among the young girls. Other challenges facing youths in 
the education sector includes drug and substance abuse, poverty, peer pressure, and poor 
parenting.
Loss of jobs due to COVID-19 has also affected education sector. Private schools that could 
not sustain the salary for their employees, both teaching and support staffs (casuals). 
Public schools have also faced challenges in making payment for the other expenses such as 
electricity and security bills. This is because the national government had not released the 
money to the schools. Apart from the other expenses, public schools cannot pay teachers 
who were hired on contracts and were under BOG.
Private schools in Vihiga County have been severely affected because of the COVID-19 
pandemic because they could no longer receive income in form of school fees. Suppliers 
and vendors who sold their goods and services to schools also lost their target market after 
the government ordered all schools to shut down. 
As the schools prepared to re-open the opportunity was created for revenue collection. 
However, the collections from the market, SMEs and agricultural produce forms the basis 
of own revenue. Even after reopening of schools, private schools will still be struggling to 
come back to the feet as many of them had suffered huge losses. There is a likelihood that 
some of the schools will close permanently unless the government comes for their rescue.
There is need for the county to input more resources in the education sector, through 
increased budgetary allocation, to facilitate the re-opening of learning institutions.
Water is a shared commodity between community and the schools. The county government 
should ensure that all learning institutions have water for proper hygiene during this 
COVID-19 period. School uniforms and learning materials such as books are provided by 
parents. Schools should make sure that there is enough classrooms to accommodate all 
learners when schools re-open. There is need to cover days lost through make up programs 
both at home and in schools. There is also Need for employment of more teachers in case 
of double tracks.
The main constraint facing education sector right was COVID-19 which led to closing of 
schools. This has disrupted education calendar posing a great challenge to both county and 
national government. The national government announced that the education calendar 
2020 a waste. Closure of all schools has led to loss to learning time and teaching time. 
The school infrastructure in the County is not only limited but also is of poor quality. 
High Illiteracy level is another issue of concern as not all county persons can read and 
write. Additionally, there is challenge of poverty among many school going children. Some 
used to eat from schools in the school feeding programs some of which were supported 
by donors and NGOs. Lack of parental guidance and early marriages are other challenges 
being experienced. 
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
ICT in education 
There is lack of enough ICT infrastructures in the county making it difficult for the online 
learning to take place (figure 10.1). The county has also low internet access (9.1 per cent) 
which constrains online learning across the County. Furthermore, only a small per cent of 
the households had access to ICT equipment such as laptops and computers. This makes 
it difficult for the pupils and other students to benefit from national learning programme 
which had been started by the government. Even if the programme was to be done through 
radio, it would be difficult since only 59.8 per cent of the county population has a radio. 
Another challenge is the inability of the private schools to sustain their teachers while they 
are not in operation.
Figure 10.1: Access to ICT in Households and Schools
Source: Kenya Population and Housing Census (KPHS, 2019). 
Line Ministries and Departments such as Health, Ministry of Education and Development 
Partners like UNICEF, AMREF are involved in Child immunization through multi-sectorial 
approach. In addition, Through ICT, other children within the county have managed to 
continue with their schoolwork at home. Health is concerned with operation of education 
sector as it defined the guidelines on the measure to put in place in preparation to re-
open schools under the new normal. Education is also directly linked to agriculture sector 
to enhance food security. Some of school dropout cases are due to lack of food. That is 
why agriculture comes in to provide food for the students enabling them to concentrate in 
classes.
10.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in education and training
The demand for PPEs such as masks in the County has led to local production by VTCs 
hence creating employment and income for youths. It will however be important to address 
issues of standards and quality of the local produced PPEs. COVID-19 pandemic has also 
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Education and training
provided opportunity for the county government to forge partnerships to ensure enough 
network coverage across all the sub-counties and counties in the Lake region. There is 
also the opportunity of exploring online classes. This if effective, can save time spent on 
travelling from home to schools to teach. Teachers will be able to reach at the comfort 
of their seats. This can reduce the cases of lateness and absenteeism. Learning from 
homes will also reduce accidents and injuries among pupils at school. It will also reduce 
indiscipline and drug abuse as parents will be able to closely monitor their children at 
home. The disease has also created an opportunity for creativity among students who are 
involved in making of ventilators and researching on vaccines.
10.3 Emerging Issues 
Limited access to desktops, laptops and internet connectivity by many school going children 
who have missed the studying at home program. Lack of clear schools re-opening strategy 
among the private and public schools.
10.4 Recommendations
(i) The County with support from stakeholders should continue to invest in early 
childhood development through infrastructural development deployment of ECDE 
teachers and provision of sanitation facilities.
(ii) . The county to combine community participation and large-scale direct 
communication campaigns to parents, and where possible, increase attendance 
options to accommodate all children, including those with highest risk of dropping 
out, also promote back to school campaign and community outreach to ensure that 
no child is being dropped out of school due to COVID-19 emergency. 
(iii) The County to prioritize projects that improve school water, sanitation and hygiene 
facilities and management to reduce future effect of similar or related outbreak while 
promoting public health in learning institutions.
(iv) The county to promote remedial/catch up lessons for learners who might have lagged 
also schools to utilize ICT platforms and have a depository of teaching and learning 
materials that learners could use at their own time and while at home. 
(v) The county to provide financial or in-kind support, such as school feeding, to help 
families overcome the increased costs of attending school, also provide psychosocial 
support to teachers and learners.
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
11  Social Protection 
11.1 Characteristics of the Sector
Sources of vulnerabilities in the County
Vihiga County has an estimated number of 20,000 PWDs (3.8%) and 7.5 per cent older 
persons aged 65 years and above as shown in Table 11.1 below. Overall poverty levels in 
the county are at 76 per cent, while 36 per cent and 43 per cent of the population is multi-
dimensionally and food poor. The proportion of stunted children in the county is 24 per 
cent of the total population. The county has in place an ongoing programme to provide 
daily animals to vulnerable groups. So far provided 38 daily cattle / goats. There is an 
established fund for the disabled, and the county government is mapping PWDs to support 
them effectively. Through the office of the governor, the county distributed maize and beans 
in partnership with CDF and other stakeholders. Animal feeds has also been distributed to 
the vulnerable. 
Assorted food bought by the county and other partners was distributed to the vulnerable in 
the society. To assist the disabled, the county is mapping out all the people living with the 
disability. The county has recruited more than 300 health workers and increased access to 
health facility with the vulnerable group placed under a health insurance cover. The county 
is in the process of opening a rescue centre for survivors of gender-based violence.
Severe Shocks to The Households
Severe shocks have had negative impact to the household’s economic and social welfare of 
county residents. Table 11.1 presents the proportion of households by the first severe shock 
in the county. The major shock in the county was dearth of livestock and Death of family 
Member which affected 25.6 per cent and 15 per cent of the households in the county. 
Household business failure, large rise in price of food and robbery were also other major 
shocks in the county affecting 8.3 per cent, 5.7 per cent and 6 per cent respectively. Crop 
disease or crop pests were experienced by 4.7 per cent of households while the 4.8 per cent 
reported having their livestock stolen as other 4 per cent of the households reported to have 
experienced Break-up of the households. 
Table 11.1: The proportion of households by the first severe shock in the county
First Severe Shock The proportion of households (%)
Droughts or floods 0
Crop disease or crop pests 4.7
Livestock died 25.6
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Social protection
Livestock were stolen 4.8
Household business failure, non-agricultural 8.3
Loss of salaried employment or non-payment of 
salary 3.1
End of regular assistance, aid, or remittances from 
outside the household 5.2
Large fall in sale prices for crops 0.5
Large rise in price of food 5.7
Large rise in agricultural input prices -
Severe water shortage -
Birth in the household 3
Death of household head 2
Death of working member of household 1
Death of other family Member 15
Break-up of the household 4
Bread winner jailed 0
Fire 2
Robbery / Burglary / Assault 6
Carjacking -
Dwelling damaged, destroyed 3
Eviction -
Ethnic/ Clan clashes 0
Conflict 1
HIV/AIDS 3
Other 17
Number of  
households with 
Shock 92,000
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
Distribution of Social Assistance Beneficiaries 
Households in the county received various forms of social assistance or transfers or gift 
either in form of a good, service, financial asset, or other asset by an individual, household 
or institution. Transfers constitute income that the household receives without working 
for it and augments household income by improving its welfare. Cash transfers include 
assistance in form of currency or transferable deposits such as cheque and money orders. 
The proportion of households that received cash transfers by source, household headship, 
residence and county is presented in Table 11.2. Overall, 65 per cent of the households 
received cash transfers. A higher proportion of households received transfers from within 
89
Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
the country (61%), mainly from individuals (81%) while external transfers constituted 43 
per cent.
Table 10.5: The proportion of households that received cash transfers by 
source, and household headship
  Beneficiaries
  Total Number of Households 144,000
  Households receiving transfers ( per 
cent) 65
 From Inside Kenya  Individual 17,213
 Non-Profit 1,270
Institution 
 National 1,859
Government 
 County 471
Government 
 Corporate 224
Sector 
 Inside Kenya  21,036
 Outside Kenya  296
 Total  21,213
 Number of households that  94,000 
received transfers 
Source: KIHBS 2015/16
The county has been engaging the youths in the county. It held a Youth Convention where 
youths were able to air their issues of concern. The county also conducted youth training 
on entrepreneurship and leadership, trained 30 community group leaders, participated in 
the international day for persons with disabilities, held 5 sub-county forums for PWD and 
one children assembly, sensitization of stakeholders on child protection in all sub-counties, 
carried out guidance and counselling for children and carried out sensitization of parents 
on proper parenting. Equity Bank (Mbale branch) in collaboration with Car and General 
Limited today handed over five motorbikes to Cheptulu United Boda-boda Group. These 
some of the programmes the county government in partnership with private sector are 
doing to empower youths.
 In line with the President’s directive to establish ‘Kazi Mtaani’ at grassroot level to salvage 
youths during this deadly COVID-19 pandemic time, Vihiga County flagged off the initiative 
that will see more than 2,500 youths in Vihiga engage in casual works to earn income. The 
county budgeted some funds for youths in this year’s budget to cushion them against corona 
virus. In addition to what the National government has offered, the county government has 
set aside money in the 2020/2021 Financial Year budget for the same purpose. Among 
the tasks to be executed by the new recruits include Beautification, planting trees, roads 
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Social protection
maintenance, maintaining government facilities, solid waste management, cleaning ditches 
and opening of culverts. In addition, the County economy launched the second phase of 
Trade and Enterprise Fund. A total of 25 million shillings will be disbursed to groups and 
individuals in business. The county intends to capacity build the beneficiaries so that they 
can invest the loans wisely in viable projects.
A Large per cent of Vihiga residents rely on Agriculture especially those in rural areas. 
Most people in this market are females. Open air markets were closed which mostly serve 
as place of trade mostly for agricultural products This affected their welfare in terms of 
finances and access to food and other goods thus lowering their living standards. Fishing 
has also been affected by the curfew and social distance requirement making it hard for 
people to trade which serves as a main source of income. This means that they could no 
longer feed their households members. Other small-scale traders such as those in transport 
industries like matatu and boda-boda were affected since the number of passengers they 
carry per trip was reduced due to introduction of social distance requirements; reducing 
the amount of income that they could get.
Most of the social protection operations were undertaken through non-contributory 
transfers in cash for the elderly, OVCs and PWDS. In some instances, in kind transfers 
which include school feeding programmes were also used to reach a wider audience and 
age group.
The county revenue collection declined because of outbreak of COVID-19. Closing of 
markets and reduction in businesses time of operation affected business activities and 
revenue collected by the county government. County will need to capitalize on fishing 
revenue as the curfew hours have been adjusted. County also needs to diversify its source 
of revenue by engaging in other activities
The main source of revenue to implement social protection activities in the county were 
mostly government budgetary allocations and donor contribution to OVCs, PwDs, and the 
elderly. 
The county government has been complementing the work of the national government on 
taking care of the OVCs. The county government aims at protecting children from abuse, 
neglect, and discrimination in accordance with the Children’s Act, 2001, and the Education 
Act, 2012.
Loss of jobs and business opportunities have also led to increase in poverty and declining 
of people welfare. With loss of jobs and businesses, most youths are likely to be involved 
in the activities such as crimes, prostitution, and other social evils. In addition, there is no 
clear policy in place on how to engage and cushion the youths and other disadvantaged 
groups in the county.
Agriculture sector, trade and industry, health as well as education. Social protection is 
directly linked to the health sector. When people’s social welfare is good, that is people 
have good health insurance, they can be able to access health services in case of sickness. 
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
When people welfare is affected by loss of employment and closing of businesses, they 
are more likely to suffer from diseases such as stress and depression. ICT also plays a key 
role in terms of information dissemination through media such as radio, television, mobile 
phones, etc. Communication is key especially for the people in business as one need to 
place order for goods or services. ICT is also involved in record keeping of those people in 
schemes such as NHIF and NSSF as well as other insurances.
Additionally, social protection is directly related to education. The more one is educated 
the more is informed of existing welfare schemes. Educated people also are aware of the 
need for and importance of engaging in social protection programmes such as insurance 
and investment for future to benefit after retirements. With good education, one can 
understand government role in ensuring good life for its citizens. 
Agriculture is the main source of revenue in the country and most of the counties. Vihiga 
county is not an exception. Majority of people are involved in livestock keeping and farming. 
This provides people with source of food as well as revenue which is used to improve their 
welfare. Agricultural sector also creates employment among many county residents who 
would otherwise have been jobless. Trade and industry play an important role bettering 
life of the residents. This is where majority of people derive their livelihood from especially 
those engaging SMEs. The profits and savings obtained from business is used in feeding the 
family members as well as insuring them in future.
11.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in social protection 
COVID-19 pandemic has provided opportunity for the county government to forge 
partnerships to ensure enough network coverage across all the sub-counties and counties 
in the LREB region. There is also the opportunity of exploring online classes. This if 
effective, can save time spent on travelling from home to schools to teach. Teachers will 
be able to reach at the comfort of their seats. This can reduce the cases of lateness and 
absenteeism. Learning from homes will also reduce accidents and injuries among pupils 
at school. It will also reduce indiscipline and drug abuse as parents will be able to closely 
monitor their children at home. The disease has also created an opportunity for creativity 
among students who are involved in making of ventilators and researching on vaccines.
11.3 Emerging Issues 
The social and economic effects of the COVID 19 pandemic increased households’ 
susceptibility to Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Vihiga county. Response measures 
taken to contain the COVID 19 pandemic, such as movement restrictions, lockdown, 
and curfew hours, have led to loss of income, isolation, high levels of stress and anxiety 
exposing household members to psychological, economic, sexual violence and physical 
harm as couples spend more time in close contact. Lack of clear policy to cushion youths 
and vulnerable in the case of pandemics. There is no clear programme of enrolment of the 
elderly to the programmes such as NHIF. There is an emerging trend of increased teenage 
pregnancies and HIV cases.
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Social protection
11.4 Recommendations
Through the office of the Governor, the county government needs:
(i) Undertake research to get a better understanding of the actual situation of all 
vulnerable groups and persons with chronic illness in Vihiga County, and to map 
existing initiatives targeting the special interest groups. The county will also carry out 
baseline survey to establish the population of the elderly persons so that they can be 
provided with NHIF cover.
(ii) Build linkages with public and non-state actors and with NGOs that work with people 
with disabilities to strengthen families, deliver assistive devices, reduce barriers to 
access and provide vocational training, also design, and implement a disability grant 
to all those who are severely disabled persons.
(iii) The county will rescue, rehabilitate, and re-integrate the young street children with 
their families; and build capacities of the older ones in collaboration with other 
stakeholders through skills retooling and support to enter labour market; and 
construct two children rescue centres in Mbale and Chavakali to rehabilitate and 
train street children.
(iv) There is need to partner within the regional block to ensure borders are manned and 
enhance cross border screening especially among long distance drivers dodging main 
route to Uganda. This would drastically slow the spread of the virus. 
(v) There is need to conduct mass civic education among the people on COVID-19 
prevention measures, how to handle an infected person and avoidance of 
stigmatization of the affected person.
(vi) There are no clear policies by the county government that aims at cushioning the 
youths and women from the impacts of COVID 19. Apart from national government 
of “Kazi Mtaani”, county government need to come up with her own initiatives. 
Programmes to cushion the vulnerable people need to be put in place.
In Vihiga County, there were 3 girls and 6 women cases of GBV reported in April 2020 based 
on data from the Healthcare Assistance Kenya (HAK) Helpline 1195. The May 2020 KNBS 
COVID_19 survey revealed that approximately 9.3 per cent of respondents had witnessed or 
heard of domestic violence in their communities since the National Government instituted 
measures to contain COVID-19. Between March -May 2020, there were a total of 1796 cases 
of adolescents (age 10 - 19) presenting with pregnancy at health facilities based on data 
from the Kenya Health Information System (KHIS, 2020). To address these challenges, 
the County will:
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
i. Designate gender safe spaces to provide accommodation for Gender Based Violence 
(GBV) survivors and create space in County Referral Hospitals to serve as GBV 
recovery centers. 
ii. Enhance community awareness and sensitization on gender inequalities, gender-
based violence reporting and prevention and reproductive health.
iii. Prioritize reporting of GBV cases through help lines such as toll-free calls and SMS 
numbers for victims.
iv. Bring onboard key stakeholders to actively engage and sensitize the youth on 
reproductive health; HIV/Aids and COVID-19 prevention measures.
v. Establish a multi-sectoral committee that oversees the implementation of gender 
policies across various cross-cutting sectors.
vi. Support gender champions and sign language interpreters to activate and 
communicate an ‘alert chain’ to reach GBV survivors or those in imminent danger of 
injury and harm.
vii. Strengthen inclusive community outreach strategies to ensure GBV messaging is 
localized and clear, and addresses stigma, discrimination and other power dynamics 
that serve as barriers to accessing GBV services & COVID-19 information among 
differently able persons.
viii. Promote use of alternative means of Gender Based Violence safe outreach and 
awareness-raising that limit direct contact i.e. using traditional methods e.g. town 
criers and use of loudspeakers.
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12 Labour Participation
12.1 Characteristics of the Sector
Sources of employment in the County
The major Economic Activities that drive Vihiga Economy are Cottage Industries, 
Subsistence Farming, Tea Farming, Horticulture, Livestock Farming, Wholesale and Retail 
Trade, Quarrying and Mining. However, the farmers in the county have been greatly affected 
by COVID-19, mainly because of national lockdowns and social distancing policies. The 
agriculture sector was experiencing a low traffic on sales and movement of goods, which in 
turn had an adverse effect on market operations and cash flow for farmers. The export and 
import restrictions created uncertainty on the tea market, and farmers were undertaking 
emergency response measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in communities, this 
resulted to loss of jobs and income amongst the farmers.
Drivers of industrialization in Vihiga County include Strategic location, raw materials, 
existing infrastructure, and regional markets. Industrial potential exists in agro-industrial 
processing, Meat and dairy and sanitary products. These investments can be supported 
through additional investments in green energy and business development services for 
private sector facilitation into industrial zones. All industrial investments can best be 
undertaken in the proposed County Industrial Park.
Table 12.1: Distribution of Population Age 5 Years and above by Activity Status, 
and Sex in the County
 Male Female Total 
Population 250,241 272,418 522,668
Working 114,367 135,752 250,123
Seeking Work/ No Work Available 9,627 5,526 15,154
Persons outside the Labour Force 126,198 131,097 257,299
Not Stated 49 43 92
 per cent Working 92.2 96.1 94.3
 per cent Seeking Work/ No Work Available 7.8 3.9 5.7
Source: KNBS (2019)
Distribution of Population Age 5 Years and above by Activity Status, and Sex in the County 
is shown in Table 12.1 above. A review on county labour force reveals the County population 
aged 15-64 years (labour force) was estimated at 265,277 people of whom 250,123 were 
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
working and 15,154 were seeking work representing an unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent 
(Kenya Population and Housing Census, 2019). Wage earners Most wage earners in the 
county are in agriculture and rural development sector of which the agriculture sector 
provides 70 per cent of employment opportunities. The urban self-employed comprise 
4 per cent of the total labour force while 34 per cent of labour force is rural based. The 
rural population is predominantly self-employed engaging in small scale businesses and 
farming. The urban self-employment includes those in businesses including shop keeping, 
hotels, chemists, hair dressing, foodstuff trade, cottage industry among others. 
Effects of COVID-19
The unemployment has increased during the period of COVID-19, 16.5 per cent of the 
county labour force worked at least for 1 hour for pay; 83.5 per cent of employees working 
without any pay; 21.0 per cent had never worked, and 62.5 per cent worked in the informal 
sector. However, 6.0 per cent of employees reported to have been absent from work due to 
COVID-19 related issues. On average, workers in the County lost 10.4 hours per week due 
to COVID-19.
During the pandemic, about 1.1 per cent of workers in the county were casual workers 30.1 
per cent were regular workers (full time), 10.7 per cent employees were working as part 
time. However, majority of these workers (44.1 per cent) reported decrease in income while 
2.2 per cent of people reported to have experienced increased income. These could be the 
people working in the health sector who are supplying medical equipment such as masks 
and PPEs. About 3.7 per cent of workers indicated to have benefited from government tax 
exemptions which indicates about 96 per cent did not benefit from National government 
tax relief for low-income-earning persons, a reduction in the top Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) 
rate, and other changes such as cash transfers, credit relief, lower VAT, and a corporate tax 
cut.
Figure 12.1: Effects of COVID-19, 2020
a) Effect of COVID-19 on Jobs b) Effect of COVID-19 on Incomes
Source: KNBS, 2020
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Labour participation
The COVID-19 had devastating effects on the service sectors, including hospitality, 
education, and transport sector. All open-air markets in the county were closed. The 
virus also hit health worker’s services. In the administrative sector, Prisons were closed 
as fear and panic gripped the Mbale prison after an inmate tested positive for COVID-19 
leading to isolation of the rest. According to the May 2020 KNBS COVID-19 Survey, the 
Transportation and storage sector reported the highest level of loss of hours worked (25.8 
hours) followed by Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods which 
lost 23.5 hours (figure 3). Workers in manufacturing and construction lost a total of 20 per 
cent and 17.9 per cent, respectively. Workers in other service activities and administrative 
and support service activities recorded on average loss of 16.7 hours and 14 hours per week, 
respectively. The loss of working hours in service sectors which contributes to 50.0 per cent 
of county GCP will have implications on the county economy both in short and long term.
Figure 12.2: Difference between usual hours worked and actual hours worked 
during COVID-19 period
Data source: KNBS, 2020
Workers in the county main economic sectors namely, Cottage Industries, Subsistence 
Farming, Tea Farming, Horticulture, Livestock Farming, Wholesale and Retail Trade, 
Quarrying and Mining lost jobs. This was due to closure of markets and strict social 
distance requirements. About 6.0 per cent of employees did not attend to work with 
other 83.5 per cent of the employees required to work without a pay with. Following the 
containment measures put in place by both national and county governments, some other 
businesses such as bars, hotels, market centres had totally closed, leading to reduced 
business activities. Workers in the transport sector had also been rendered jobless due to 
restrictions of moving in and out of Nairobi and Mombasa counties. As a result, majority 
of workers (44 per cent) reported decrease in income due to the COVID-19. According 
to the May 2020 KNBS COVID_19 Survey, only 2.0 per cent of people reported to have 
experienced increased income. 
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
12.2 Opportunities with COVID-19 in Labour Participation
While the “future of work” was well underway before the pandemic, COVID-19 has clearly 
hastened its arrival as the economic effect of the global pandemic (COVID-19) provides an 
opportunity for the acceleration of the digitalization processes in the work environment. 
The county government need to immediately use digital platforms to enable remote access 
to jobs for their employees where the Human Resource Management will have an essential 
role to play in navigation of the situation caused by the pandemic. There have been notable 
efforts by the county government to invest more money in training health workers. The 
county government now has an opportunity to recalibrate its employees and develop 
strategies (mid- and post-pandemic strategies) to adapt to the evolving reality.
The local productions of masks have provided opportunity for revenue creation. County 
can increase revenue collection by promoting opening of businesses which had closed 
while at the same time observing the Ministry of health guidelines in fighting COVID-19. 
County can also diversify it source of income by encouraging local production of masks and 
PPEs. This will create employment among the youths and the same time save the county 
the money it could have used to buy from other countries or counties. Revenue collection 
department can implement the following measure: revenue automation, training of staff, 
facilitation of all the department to ensure it is able to implement its projects and activities.
12.3 Emerging issues
The national government in collaboration with county government has started a programme 
that aims at cushioning the youths who have lost jobs due to COVID-19. The “Kazi Mtaani” 
project in Vihiga county is aimed at creating employment among the youths under national 
hygiene programme. Youths are involved in various activities that aims at ensuring clean 
environment around the main towns
County is not well prepared in terms of response to health-related risks such as the current 
COVID-19. Opportunities within the regional economic block needs to be exploited to 
enhance economic competitive advantage. There are emerging talents among the youths 
which can tapped to benefit the county especially this time of COVID-19 such as making of 
ICU bed, masks and PPEs.
12.4 Recommendations
(i) Enhance establishment and coordination of agriculture support programmes to 
farmers e.g. subsidized farm inputs, enhanced credit to farmers and free tea seedlings 
to support the poor farmers. This will create employment in agriculture sector which 
is the main source of employment in the county.
(ii) Introduce Agricultural diversification where people will be involved in growing other 
crops traditional ones such as black nightshade (lisutsa), jute mallow (mutere) among 
others as black which are in high demand in urban centres such as Nairobi. They can 
support farmers in Chavakali, Emuhaya, Vihiga and Cheptulu where crops are doing 
well.
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Labour participation
(iii) Promote investment and entrepreneurship through provision of loans, Vihiga County 
will improve access to finance for small and medium enterprises through lending 
institutions. In addition, build capacity in areas related to marketing, operations, 
finance, and human resource development to enhance the chances of survival of 
SMEs.
(iv) Establish a mentorship programme for youths where they can be offered paid 
internship in all county offices. This will equip them with necessary skills needed in 
job market.
(v) Promote implementation of a stronger labour market interventions and policy 
reforms that drive employment creation. The County shall deepen technical 
education, training and skills development.
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
13 Conclusion and Key Recommendations
13.1 Conclusion
Fiscal policy
The County’s main sources of revenue comprise of the transfers from the National 
Government, Conditional Grants, and its own source revenue (OSR). Total County revenue 
has significantly grown by 69 per cent from Ksh 3.28 billion in 2013/14 to Ksh 5.54 billion 
in 2020/21. The amount received in 2020/21 accounted for 84.2 per cent of the annual 
budget allocation of Ksh 6.58 billion for the County. Budget execution as measured by 
absorption rate has largely remained above 60 per cent over the review period with the 
average overall absorption rate at 72.4 per cent. Pending bills have been declining over the 
review period but remain high with average development related pending bills accounting 
for 53.6 per cent of pending bills. County wage bill has been growing tremendously at 
the expense of development expenditure and on average accounted for 46.0 per cent of 
expenditure, while development expenditure accounting for 25.6 of total county spending. 
Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
The Agri-food analysis highlights the sector was negatively affected by COVID-19 in terms of 
labour supply, trade and marketing operations, food supply and the resulting effects on food 
prices. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic period, the County also suffered from desert 
locusts, floods, and livestock diseases albeit at very low levels. The County’s agricultural 
productivity is also affected by: - variable and extreme weather events; land fragmentation; 
low agro-processing and value addition opportunities; low access to quality and affordable 
inputs; low crops, livestock, and livestock products marketing opportunities; low access to 
major off-farm services including extension, climate and market information, and credit 
services; and pests and livestock diseases; and farm losses and post-harvest waste. This 
adversely affects the productivity of the sector and impairs marketing and consequently 
places livelihoods and food security at risk especially in times of emergencies. The analysis 
calls for strategies to enhance productivity, profitability, and resilience of the sector for 
improved livelihoods. 
Water sanitation and hygiene 
The county relies more on water from springs, to minimize the risks of households missing 
water, it’s important to put in place measures to ensure protection of water resources for 
continuity of access to clean and safe water by households. Similarly, most households do 
not have access to piped water as well as sewer thus denying the county the much-needed 
revenues. 
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Conclusion and key recommendations
Manufacturing, Trade and MSMEs
The momentum in manufacturing, trade and MSMEs was disrupted by the COVID-19 
pandemic as the containment measures associated with COVID-19 pandemic took a heavy 
toll on the sector. In sustaining growth this sector, it is important to expand trade and 
strengthen production capacity of MSMEs and especially those involved in manufacturing 
in the County by exploiting opportunities afforded by the pandemic such as production of 
masks, PPEs, hospital beds, ventilators, reagents, gloves, and sanitizers. However, it is also 
critical to ensure the transitioning out of such products is well managed as the COVID-19 
pandemic slows.
Tourism 
The main tourist attractions in Vihiga County include nature-based tourism, cultural 
and heritage tourism, Agro-tourism and ecotourism and medical tourism. There are no 
star-rated hotel facilities in Vihiga County. However, there are 7 registered hotels that are 
easily accessible and distributed across the county. There is great opportunity to invest in 
luxury hotels to tap into the high-end tourist market, and campsites to target backpackers 
and adventure tourists. COVID-19 pandemic has affected the tourism sector such as the 
postponement of the annual cultural festivals in the county
Health
For a resilient health sector, there is need for more awareness on immunization so that 
mothers can ensure their children get immunized. Implement a comprehensive human 
resource health management system including undertaking training needs assessments 
and information system to ensure skilled and motivated health care workers, equitable 
deployed across all sub-counties. This is in addition to paying the salaries in time to avoid 
cases of strikes and low staff morale. Recruit additional of public health officers and 
community health workers to strengthen preventive and public health systems.
Education and training
The County with support from stakeholders will need to continue to invest in early 
childhood development through infrastructural development; deployment of ECDE 
teachers and provision of sanitation facilities. The county would put up measures that 
encourage learners to complete all levels of education.
Social Protection
COVID-19 pandemic created immediate and long-term economic consequences for 
vulnerable groups including children, PWDs, elderly and their families. To strengthen 
social protection response in face of a similar pandemic, the county government will need 
to provide basic income security, especially for persons whose jobs or livelihoods have 
been disrupted by the pandemic. Build linkages with other Ministries, and with NGOs that 
work with people with disabilities to strengthen families, deliver assistive devices, reduce 
barriers to access and provide vocational training. 
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Labour Participation
The COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the speed at which different firms and businesses 
within the county are changing their pay programmes through pay reductions and incentive 
resets. It will be important for the County to promote implementation of appropriate labour 
market interventions especially those working in the tea sector which is a major employer 
in Vihiga County and policy reforms that drive employment creation. Deepen technical 
education, training and skills development.
13.2 Key recommendations 
Fiscal policy
There is need to mobilize more finances from OSR to increase the available revenues for 
budgetary operations. The government to seek for more funding in form of grants from 
development partners to cater for the critical development projects in the county while 
ensuring that the ongoing projects are completed before launching new project and clear 
any pending bills and arrears owed to suppliers. 
Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
To successfully build resilience and enhance growth of the agriculture sector: explore 
partnerships to develop agro-processing and value addition capacities at the County; 
strengthen the County’s institutional capacity in disaster surveillance and management; 
enhance farmers access to critical agricultural services and build their technical capacity to 
act on information obtained; and strengthen agricultural cooperatives.
Water sanitation and hygiene 
To build resilience and mitigate the effect of COVID-19; increase water supply in 
households, institutions, and public places through drilling of boreholes, dams, and access 
to piped water in all the sub-counties. Promote the use of safe and improved toilets in 
schools, health care facilities, workplaces, and public places by connecting households to 
piped sewer. Promote handwashing as a stop gap measure against COVID-19. 
Manufacturing, Trade and MSMEs
To sustain growth in the manufacturing, trade and MSMEs sector: Collaborate with 
National government to establish a granite processing plant in the county as per the Third 
Medium Term Plan 2018-2022 flagship programmes and projects of enhancing mining 
for development; Consider an emergency rescue package for businesses and traders 
hard-hit by the effects of COVID-19 in the short run. The emergency Fund, supported by 
development partners and other stakeholders, can be used to identify, and support the 
most vulnerable businesses and entrepreneurs affected by COVID-19. Related, the County 
will inject some stimulus to cushion the businesses and traders through affordable credit; 
waiver of some County taxes, cess, and other charges; COVID-19 has increased demand 
for locally produced goods in the County, and especially Personal Protective Equipment 
(PPEs), sanitizers, hospital beds and ventilators. It is an opportunity to spur innovation 
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Conclusion and key recommendations
and promote manufacturing and industry development and generation of jobs for the 
youth; and adopt the new pandemic guidelines including rearranging floor plans to allow 
for social distancing and maintain high standards of hygiene through having hand washing 
facilities in manufacturing establishments. 
Infrastructure, housing, and urban development 
The main means of transport used in the County is motorbike 40.08 per cent, followed 
by PSV matatus at 28.75 per cent. The paved County Road network covers 27.15km, 
while the paved National roads cover 125.31km. Out of the total paved road network of 
152.46km, 49.42 per cent is in good condition, 42.37 per cent in fair condition and 8.2 per 
cent in poor condition. The status of ICT access and use in the county is low, especially 
among households. The housing tenure is predominantly owner occupied. The county 
has challenges in quality of the housing stock. Approximately 31.9 per cent of houses are 
constructed using finished materials for walls, floor and roofing, compared to 68.1 per cent 
constructed using rudimentary materials.
Tourism 
The county will need to enforce high sanitation standards at tourism accommodation and 
attraction sites as sanitation is emerging as key component in ensuring business continuity 
in the tourism sector. Tourism infrastructure development such as construction of roads 
to cultural sites and establishing a recreation park will also boost tourism in the county. 
The county will also need to Sensitize the community on the importance of conserving 
the environment and cultural heritage to conserve the community’s culture and sustain 
tourism in the county. Accommodation facilities that will meet the re-opening measures 
for hospitality sector are likely to recover faster from the effects of the pandemic, since 
tourist – both domestic and foreign – will be concerned about their safety first. There is 
also a great opportunity to invest in luxury hotels to tap into the high-end tourist market, 
and campsites to target backpackers and adventure tourists.
Health 
Under the health sector, create awareness on immunization so that mothers can ensure 
their children get immunized. Implement a comprehensive human resource health 
management system including undertaking training needs assessments and information 
system to ensure skilled and motivated health care workers, equitable deployed across all 
sub-counties. This is in addition to paying the salaries in time to avoid cases of strikes and 
low staff morale. Recruit additional of public health officers and community health workers 
to strengthen preventive and public health systems. COVID-19 has worsened the situation 
as far as youths and women are concerned. These are the groups of people that have been 
facing several challenges even before the outbreak of the COVID-19. FGM and Gender 
based violence cases have increased with the lock down. Youths who are entrepreneurs have 
also been affected losing jobs and businesses due to the lockdown. Other problems facing 
youths includes teenage pregnancies, malnutrition, STI/HIV and AIDS, poor environment, 
drug and substance abuse and malnutrition
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Socio-economic status of Vihiga County with COVID-19
Education and training 
The County with support from stakeholders to invest in early childhood development 
through infrastructural development; deployment of ECDE teachers; and provision of 
sanitation facilities. Provide financial or in-kind support, such as school feeding, to help 
families overcome the increased costs of attending school and provide psychosocial support 
to teachers and learners during and after the pandemic.
Social protection
Build linkages with other Ministries, and with NGOs that work with vulnerable groups 
to strengthen families, deliver assistive devices, reduce barriers to access and provide 
vocational training. Undertake research to get a better understanding of the actual situation 
of disability and chronic illness in the County, and to map existing initiatives on social 
protection.
Labour Participation
The county will enhance investments and mechanisms for up skilling and reskilling, 
deepening technical skills as well as ICT skills; and retraining employees on how to 
work from home, where applicable. The county government will also protect workers in 
the informal economy by pursuing innovative policies to reach them quickly through a 
combination of non-contributory and contributory social security schemes and facilitating 
their transition to the formal economy in the longer term.
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 Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis
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P.O. Box 56445-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 20 4936000; +254 20 2719933/4
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