# Women in Kisumu’s informal food trade were excluded from pandemic decisions, study finds

> A review of four Kenyan policy documents and retrospective interviews identified gaps in consultation, unequal enforcement and overlooked care responsibilities. The fieldwork took place in 2024.

URL: https://foodradar.org/kisumu-women-vendors-excluded-from-covid-19-food-policy-decisions
Language: en
Author: FoodRadar Editorial
Published: 2026-10-15T20:50:05.019775+00:00
Updated: 2026-10-23T00:56:49.215Z
Source publication date: 2026-10-01
Category: Regulation
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## Policy documents examined alongside participants’ experiences

Women working in the informal food trade in Kisumu, Kenya, were excluded from decisions on pandemic measures that affected their businesses, according to a study published in PLOS One on 1 October 2026. The authors combined an analysis of four national COVID-19 policy documents with accounts from vendors and other participants, examining consultation, enforcement and differences in women’s circumstances.

Fieldwork ran from 10 July to 15 October 2024. The study reports 80 participants across 20 key-informant interviews, 20 in-depth interviews and four focus groups involving 40 women. The policy documents covered public-safety rules, curfews, movement restrictions and disease-control enforcement powers.

## A local sample and an intersectional policy framework

Recruitment used purposive and snowball sampling with the Pamoja Community Based Organisation and local market representatives. Participants included women and men involved in food vending, market leaders and people from government and community organisations. Interviews were conducted in English, Swahili or Luo; Swahili and Luo material was translated into English during transcription and reviewed by multilingual research team members.

The researchers used the Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis framework to examine gender alongside circumstances such as age, marital status, education and socioeconomic position. They identified four themes: exclusion from decision-making, inequities in enforcement, policy blind spots concerning intersecting identities, and policy fragmentation. Their analysis describes national policy formulation and county-level implementation as insufficiently coordinated.

## Trading costs, enforcement and unpaid care

Participants described new expenses for masks, water and sanitising supplies, alongside market closures and distancing requirements that reduced the capacity of small trading spaces. The authors report that women were excluded from policy discussions despite membership in market associations and informal savings groups. They argue that these groups held practical knowledge about trading, credit, mobility, food security and caregiving that could have informed decisions.

Women participants reported harassment, demands for bribes, physical abuse and the consumption, confiscation or destruction of their food by enforcement personnel. They also described having to adjust trading hours around unpaid household work and caring for children or ill relatives, particularly when they lacked support. Flooding added further losses for some vendors during the pandemic.

## Retrospective findings and proposals for future emergencies

The authors acknowledge that interviews conducted years after the pandemic may be affected by recall difficulties. Self-reported accounts may also be influenced by social desirability. The focus on one Kenyan county limits nationwide generalisation, while the restriction to informal food businesses limits transfer to other informal sectors.

The authors recommend formal representation of women vendors on emergency advisory committees and consultation with community partners before market restrictions are introduced. They also propose targeted financial assistance, flexible licensing, emergency income protection, flexible market arrangements and communication adapted to local needs. They call for comparative research across secondary cities under different governance systems.

## Sources and rights

- [An intersectionality-based policy analysis of COVID-19 measures and women informal food vendors in Kisumu, Kenya](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359620?utm_source=foodradar.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=kisumu-women-vendors-excluded-from-covid-19-food-policy-decisions-en). PLOS One. Elizabeth Opiyo Onyango, Joyce Kiplagat, Rebecca Gokiert and Patrick Mbullo Owuor (2026). An intersectionality-based policy analysis of COVID-19 measures and women informal food vendors in Kisumu, Kenya. PLOS One. Published 1 October 2026. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0359620. Copyright Onyango et al. 2026. CC BY 4.0. Editorial adaptation and translation: FoodRadar. [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/?utm_source=foodradar.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=kisumu-women-vendors-excluded-from-covid-19-food-policy-decisions-en-license).

Adapted by FoodRadar.

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