Exploring the Link Between Food Insecurity, Child Marriage, and Adolescent Births in Kenya's ASAL Counties.
# Climate Vulnerability and Adolescent Outcomes in Kenya
# Overview
This project explores the relationship between drought, food insecurity, child marriage, and adolescent pregnancy rates in Kenya's ASAL counties.
## Research Question
Are climate-related vulnerabilities associated with increased risks of child marriage and adolescent births?
# Conceptual Framework
Rather than assuming drought directly causes adolescent pregnancy, I explored a pathway model:
Drought - Food Insecurity - Child Marriage - Adolescent Births
Education is a Protective Factor.
# Data Sources
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS): Child marriage prevalence, Adolescent birth rates, Food poverty rates, Secondary education completion rates and Urban to county population.
Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC): Phase 3+ prevalence (ASAL counties).
NDMA Kenya: Drought classification data: Normal, Alert, Alarm.
NDMA Kenya: County ASAL classification.
All datasets were harmonized at the county level for 2022.
# Methods
Data cleaning with Python
Exploratory analysis
Correlation analysis
OLS regression
Power BI dashboard visualization
# Key Findings
1.Child marriage prevalence was higher in ASAL counties than in Non-ASAL counties, highlighting the disproportionate burden of social vulnerability in regions affected by recurrent drought and food insecurity.
2.Food insecurity and food poverty was positively associated with child marriage.
3.Child marriage showed a strong association with adolescent birth rates.
4.Education was negatively associated with child marriage.
5.Child marriage may act as a pathway linking climate vulnerability to adolescent outcomes.
# Skills Demonstrated
Python
Data Cleaning
Data Integration
Geospatial Analysis
Statistical Modeling
Power BI
Data Storytelling
# Dashboard
# Medium Article
medium.com …