Economic Inequality
Economic inequality is the unequal distribution of income and opportunity between different groups in society. It is a concern in almost all countries around the world and often people are trapped in poverty with little chance to climb up the social ladder.
Now at a time of acute health and economic crisis, Coronavirus pandemic, widening divisions are raising moral, social, economic, and political challenges. Wealth is much more concentrated among the top tier of wealth holders, with households in the top 10 percent of the wealth distribution in high-income countries owning more than half of all household wealth in 2015 (or latest year available), according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Like in Kenya, the gap between the richest and poorest has reached extreme levels . Less than 0.1% of the population (8,300 people) own more wealth than the bottom 99.9% (more than 44 million people). The richest 10% of people in Kenya earned on average 23 times more than the poorest 10%.
Unequal access to opportunities, such as healthcare and education, is rife. Nearly one million primary school-aged children are still out-of-school.
No single roadmap exists on how to narrow the gap between the rich and poor, but governments have the toolkit to make a difference. Governments have to do more to directly address inequality through focused policies while considering the effects of technology, globalization, public health, and any other rising factors.
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