Poverty is the underlying cause of child deaths in South Africa, according to a recent study released by the Medical Research Council. But other sub-Saharan African countries, with less money and fewer resources, have managed to cut their child mortality rates. A recent study in The Lancet reported that deaths in children under age five have been dropping in Tanzania, whereas between 2000 and 2004 child mortality dropped by 24 percent. During this period, the Tanzanian government increased the annual amount spent on healthcare per citizen from 4.70 to 11.70 (about R36 to R89,60). The money was also evenly distributed across the country, rather than favouring richer districts.
Poverty and health
Poverty pushes up SA's child mortality
Keyser A: International Labour Organization, 16 May 2008
Poverty reduction for older people: The case of access to health services in Tanzania
Mongula B: Health Policy and Development 5(1):71-76
This paper explores the prospects of poverty reduction with particular reference to health services to older people in Tanzania. Tanzania’s National Ageing Policy raises a number of questions on the health of older people some of which are answered by the country’s National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty. This paper aims to analyse and establish the prospects of improvement of health services to older people in Tanzania, including: do the poverty reduction initiatives sufficiently address the obstacles of access to health services by older people; and does the fact that the poverty reduction initiatives are being pursued hand in hand with measures to overcome past failures of the state in planning such as decentralization and participatory strategic planning in the local areas make a difference? The researchers found that while the long term objective of government to make free health services available to older people is not in doubt, it is not yet clear how the objective will be achieved. It is still some way into the future that such bold policies will be translated into action backed by allocation of financial and human resources. Furthermore, the general national strategy for growth and reduction of poverty needs to be operationalised with sector and area specific programmes and plans, in this regard by Health ministry programmes and health plans of Local Governments.
Review of incorporation of essential nutrition actions into Public Health Programs in Ethiopia
Jennings J, Hirbaye MB: FANTA, January 2008
The Essential Nutrition Actions package is an approach to expand the coverage of seven affordable and evidence-based actions to improve the nutritional status of women and children, especially those under two years of age. The Food and Nutrition Technical Assisstance Project (FANTA)'s Review of Incorporation of Essential Nutrition Actions into Public Health Programs in Ethiopia found that the approach has been incorporated into the Ethiopia Federal Ministry of Health system and multilateral and NGO programming, however, improved training and other steps are necessary to further institutionalise the approach. The review, requested by USAID/Ethiopia, examined a number of facilitating and inhibiting factors to ENA integration in the context of Ethiopia’s health system.
COMESA customs union: an assessment of progress and challenges for Eastern and Southern Africa's poor
Mambara JL, Trade and Development Studies Centre - Trust, Zimbabwe, 2007
COMESA's goal is the establishment of a free trade area, a customs union, a common market and ultimately an economic union. COMESA is home to 10 of the poorest countries in the world - Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Zaire and Zambia. This paper examines the impact of COMESA on the poor. The report finds that while COMESA has liberalised trade in goods and services generally, there is now an urgent need to liberalise intra-regional trade in services and improve relations among its members. Conflicts in COMESA are unsustainable and strong
implementation mechanisms are needed to address non-tariff barriers and other trade restrictions within the region, with decisions on how transfer of sovereignty in some areas of trade policy to regional institutions is done in relation to SADC and COMESA.
Economic impact of the three communicable diseases: HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria on the SADC Region
SADC Secretariat: SADC International Conference on Poverty and Development, 18–20 April 2008, Pailles, Mauritius
The region as a whole is not on track to meet the MDG targets owing to, among others, increased prevalence of communicable diseases. In this paper, authors discuss the Economic impact of the three communicable diseases: HIV and AIDS, TB and Malaria and demonstrate that these diseases negatively affect economic growth. The paper is based on literature review of studies done within and outside the SADC region on the impact of the three communicable diseases.
Food Insecurity, Vulnerability and Human Rights Failure
Guha-Khasnobis B, Acharya SS, Davis B: United Nations University - Wider, October 2007
This book analyses interactions between food insecurity, vulnerability and the right to food. The significance of a human rights approach, and the way in which it translates to gender considerations, with links to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, agricultural productivity and the environment, adds a new dimension to the problem of world hunger. By exploring these approaches to hunger this volume shifts away from research on macro food availability to more composite dimensions cutting across economics, sociology, law and politics. It includes a chapter on Food Security in the SADC Region: An Assessment of National Trade Strategy in the Context of the 2001-03 Food Crisis by A.Charman & J.Hodge and on Gender, HIV/AIDS and Rural Livelihoods: Micro-Level Investigations in Three African Countries by J.Curry, E.Wiegers, A.Garbero, S.Stokes & J.Hourihan.
Global food crisis increases instability in world’s poorest countries
LDC Watch, 20 April 2008
The current global food crisis will impact most in the world’s poorest countries civil society leaders said in Accra on the opening day of UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The meeting, organised with the collaboration of UNCTAD and the UN’s Office of the High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS (UN-OHRILLS), was addressing the continued vulnerability of LDCs. Hosted by Ghana, the UNCTAD XII conference entitled “Making Globalisation Work for Development” is seeking to identify opportunities of globalisation for developing countries. However as the civil society meeting heard current international policies are not addressing the systemic problems facing LDCs.
Further details: /newsletter/id/33075
Globalisation - Poverty Channels and case studies from Sub-Saharan Africa
Nissanke N, Thorbecke E (Guest Eds.), African Development Review, April 2008
This special issue explores how the forces of globalisation influence poverty; describes and discusses the main transmission channels and mechanisms; and analyses the impact of globalisation on Africa through six case studies.
Microfinance and poverty reduction in the SADC Region
SADC Secretariat, SADC International Conference on Poverty and Development, 18–20 April 2008, Pailles, Mauritius
Microfinance has been recognised, globally, as a viable and sustainable tool for poverty reduction and economic development through improving income generating activities and employment creation. Despite well documented evidence of the positive impact of promoting access to finance to under-served segments of the community, many poor people in the Africa, particularly in Southern African Development Community (SADC), still remain excluded from the mainstream financial system. Microfinance programmes are reported to stimulate the growth of the micro-enterprises and the SME sectors, assist in the formalization of the informal sector and integrate that sector into the mainstream economy, thus contributing to socio-economic development and to poverty reduction.
Poverty in Focus: PSIA, Assessing Poverty Impacts
International Poverty Centre, 14 April 2008
Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) and Poverty Impact Assessment (PIA) are recently developed tools for analysing the distributional impact of policies, programmes and projects on the well-being of the population, with particular focus on the poor and vulnerable. Both approaches provide a comprehensive framework for analysis while drawing on a wide range of well-established approaches and tools covering economic, social, political and institutional issues. The International Poverty Centre (IPC) is administering a joint United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) / World Bank Project on PSIA. The overall objective is to promote capacities in developing countries for analytical work on the impact of national policies and to use these results to influence poverty reduction strategies. This involves adjusting policy design in light of the impact of policies on poor women and men, and providing evidence to inform national policy dialogue.