The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) in Southern Africa on Tuesday announced that it spent nearly R600-million ($100-million) in 2005, double the amount in 2004, buying more than half a million tonnes of food in the region to support vulnerable people across Africa. About 337 000 tonnes of food, worth R372-million ($62-million) was purchased in South Africa by WFP's regional headquarters in Johannesburg.
Poverty and health
Reaching the poor with health services
World Bank publication
The poor suffer from far higher levels of ill health, mortality, and malnutrition than do the better-off; and their inadequate health is one of the factors keeping them poor or for their being poor in the first place. The health of the poor must thus be a matter of major concern for everyone committed to equitable development, from policy makers to service providers. Health services can make an important contribution to improved health conditions among disadvantaged groups. Yet as the contents of this volume make clear, the health services supported by governments and by agencies like ours too often fail to reach these people who need them most.
Pathways from poverty: Evaluating long-term strategies
John Hoddinott, Agnes Quisumbing, Alain de Janvry, and Tassew Woldehanna
The Millennium Declaration of the United Nations committed the global community to halving, by 2015, the proportion of the world's population who live in poverty and suffer from hunger. Attaining the United Nations' goal requires good governance, a genuine political commitment by both developed and developing countries, and increased resources. Yet, reducing global poverty also requires a clear understanding of the factors that predict whether an individual or household will become less poor or more poor over time. Intervention programs often are evaluated on a short time frame, even though such interventions may have long-term effects.
Breaking the link between poverty and illness
Cutting poverty and reducing the burden of disease are major global development goals. Can strategies tackle these tasks in parallel, by focusing on very poor people? The health sector can borrow strategies from welfare services to reduce the risk of health-related shocks, ease their impact and break the vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health. Poor people often have higher risks of adverse events and fewer means to cope with them than wealthier groups. A paper produced for a UK Department for International Development workshop analyses health-related shocks.
The social and economic impact of South Africa’s social security system
Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI), South Africa , 2004
Social grants play a critical role in reducing poverty and promoting development in South Africa. This study evaluates the socio-economic impact of various social grants including child support grants, disability grants and state pensions. The paper further examines their effects on the household, the labour market and the economy. The paper begins by assessing the impact of social assistance on poverty reduction. To evaluate the level of poverty, the authors use different methodological approaches including absolute and relative measures. The second section investigates the effects of social grants on households’ access to health care, schooling, housing, water and electricity. The third section examines the impact of social security on employment and productivity. Finally the paper analyses the impact of this public expenditure on macro-economic indicators including national savings and consumption.
What is the impact of IMF, WB and WTO liberalization and privatization of the water service sector on the poor?
Is the water privatization heavily promoted by the International Financial Institutions, a good thing for the poorest in the developing countries? A new report by Nancy Alexander of the Citizen's network on essential services takes a skeptical view. A UN report, "Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Liberalization of Trade in Services and Human Rights" claimed that increased foreign private investment in public services can upgrade national infrastructure, introduce new technology and provide employment. However, the report also argues that it can lead to negative impacts to the poorest.
Meeting the health-related needs of the very poor
Eldis Dossier
There is a growing concern within the international development community that policies aimed at reducing the number of people living below the poverty line could leave the most disadvantaged groups behind. In line with these concerns, this Eldis dossier looks at different strategies for reaching the very poor within the health sector, and at the institutional challenges associated with scaling up health-related interventions to cover broader segments of the population.
Is the water and sanitation MDG achievable?
The seventh Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) commits the international community to halving, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. The baseline set for most of the MDG targets, including that on water and sanitation, is 1990. As 2002 is the last year for which comprehensive data is available it can be considered the halfway mark towards achieving the 2015 MDG deadline. Based on 2002 data, is the world on course for achieving this goal? A report prepared by the World Health Organization/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) presents a report on progress made towards fulfilling the MDG commitment. Encouragingly, with 83 percent coverage, the world is set to meet the drinking water MDG. This progress is tempered, however, by slow progress in sub-Saharan Africa.
Relating mortality rates to the poverty trap
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), 2005
The authors of this paper present the argument that development occurs only if people make provision for the future. If they see no future, there is no growth. Using development indicators as their data for their research, they examine a basic determinant affecting decision horizons: the risk of premature death. The paper suggests that the causal relationship between mortality and poverty is bi-directional:
- on the one hand, in a poor country, unable to afford sanitation and medical care, people die young;
- on the other hand, where people have a short time horizon because they expect to die young, they have less reason to save and the economy fails to grow.
Study attributes AIDS to food insecurity in Mozambique
Mozambique's Food and Nutritional Security Technical Secretariat (SETSAN) says the country could face severe food insecurity as a result of HIV/AIDS. In a report released on Monday in the capital Maputo, at a symposium on the relation between hunger and absolute poverty, SETSAN warned that the agricultural sector might lose 20 percent of its workforce to AIDS-related illnesses by 2010.