The Nexus between Women's Access to Financial Resources and Household Food Security in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, food insecurity remains a significant challenge. Women are disproportionately affected due to limited access to financial resources. In Kenya's arid regions like Tharaka, gendered financial exclusion, poverty, and climate shocks further weaken household food security (HFS). This study examined how women's access to financial resources (WAFR) influences HFS in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The study sample comprised 341 women participating in the Uwezo Fund and the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), across three constituencies: Chuka Igamba Ng'ombe (143), Tharaka (99), and Maara (99). WAFR was proxied by an 8-item scale, rated on a 5-point Likert scale from strongly disagree to agree strongly. HFI had three outcomes: 1) Food Security proxied by the 18-item Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS); 2) Food Availability and Food Utilization proxied by the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) scale; and 3) Food Stability proxied by a 9-item Coping Strategies Index (CSI). The study adopted a correlational research design to establish how WAFR influences HFS. The simple linear regression results showed that WAFR had a significant negative effect on HFS, b = - 0.040, p = 0.041, R-square = 0.04, but has a positive significant effect on HDDS, b =0.112, p = 0.048, R-square = 0.020, and CSI, b = 0.089, p = 0.043, R-square = 0.014, at a 5% significance level. The findings showed that WAFR had no significant effect on food accessibility and availability (HFIAS), but significantly improved household dietary diversity (HDDS) and coping strategies (CSI). This was attributed by the fact that women mainly used loans for children’s education (53.1%), purchase farm inputs (36.4%), purchase food (31.1%), and starting small businesses (29.3%). While this enhanced dietary quality and resilience, immediate food security outcomes did not significantly improve, likely due to prioritization of finances on long-term investments. Policy interventions should therefore focus on flexible, low-interest loans with repayment schedules that account for seasonal food shortages, enabling women to balance investment and immediate household needs.