Paper Sample on Access to Reliable Energy: Kenya vs. America

The majority of homesteads in America are equipped with a reliable source of energy. Additionally, electricity is regarded as more of a basic need in our society. However, in some parts of the world, it is a privilege to have access to a reliable energy source on a daily basis. For instance, in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa like Kenya, it is not common for regular citizens to afford to install energy sources such as electricity in their homes.

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Statistics show that Kenya has one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa despite half of its population living below the poverty line. The East African nation registered a GDP per capita of 1710.51 dollars in the year 2018, which dropped to 1237.50 dollars in 2019 (Muhanguzi, 2019). The total GDP for the country was 87.91 billion USD in 2018 and 95.50 billion USD in 2019. The country is ranked 23 among the 47 African sub-Saharan countries in terms of economic growth (Muhanguzi, 2019).

The energy sector in Kenya is dominated by electricity, petroleum, and wood fuel that sustains the largely rural population of the sub-Saharan country. The analysis shows that the majority of citizens depend on wood for fuel and other biomass sources which account for 68 percent of the total consumption (Gao & Zhang, 2014). Petroleum accounts for 22 percent of the energy supply, while electricity covers nine percent of the total energy supply. Access to electricity is relatively low despite the government’s effort to enable connectivity to 65 percent of the population by the year 2022 (Gao & Zhang, 2014). The country is categorized as energy impoverished because less than half of the population lacks access to electricity and petroleum energy sources.

A child growing up in a Sub-Saharan country has limited access to energy. The majority of children begin their first stages of growth in rural areas, where wood is the main source of energy (Mbaka, Gikonyo, & Kisaka, 2019). Kenyan government covers primary and secondary education expenses; the strategy has enabled more than 80 percent of children in the country to get access to basic education. The majority of education centers are equipped with electricity hence enabling children to use it as the primary source of energy for education purposes (Mbaka, Gikonyo, & Kisaka, 2019).

Many homesteads in Kenya use solar panels to convert the energy needed for lighting and other basic requirements (Mbaka, Gikonyo, & Kisaka, 2019). Hence, the majority of children can access energy for basic use without traveling long distances. However, children living in the northeast part of Kenya tend to be disadvantaged as the area is isolated and underdeveloped. A child growing up in that part of the country have no access to petroleum and electricity and hence utilize wood as their main source of energy (Mbaka, Gikonyo, & Kisaka, 2019).

References

Muhanguzi, K. B. (2019). Country Risk, Corporate Strategy and Profitability: A System GMM Estimation for Multinational Banks in Sub Saharan Africa. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3381642

Gao, J., & Zhang, L. (2014). Electricity Consumption-Economic Growth-CO2Emissions Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Panel Cointegration. African Development Review, 26(2), 359–371. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12087

Mbaka, C. K., Gikonyo, J., & Kisaka, O. M. (2019). Households’ energy preference and consumption intensity in Kenya. Energy, Sustainability and Society, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-019-0201-8