Poverty and hunger continue to characterise life for most Africans who are denied agency over their livelihoods as a result of a complex mix of reinforcing structural, political and environmental factors. This article identifies HIV and AIDS and food insecurity (particularly in rural areas) as the two most severe and interrelated humanitarian issues currently facing southern Africa. It argues that the current situation must be seen as an entangling crisis of climatic factors, chronic poverty, the failure of economic and political governance, and the impact of HIV and AIDS on the ability of individuals to respond independently.
Poverty and health
Assuring food security in Africa
Food and nutrition security remain Africa's most fundamental challenges. The number of Africans who are undernourished has been on the rise for decades and now stands at about 200 million people. However, a new commitment to change is emerging both among African leaders and in the international community. Africa may at last be poised to make real progress on achieving food and nutrition security. This book, ‘2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture and the Environment’ by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), introduces a variety of presentations and deliberations that took place at a conference hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, held in Kampala, Uganda, April 2004.
Double burden of disease threatens the world’s poorest people
This article from the Bulletin of the World Health Organization highlights the association between poverty and major risk factors for ill-health. Research was focused on people in low and middle income countries within each of the World Health Organization (WHO) sub-regions. Findings showed that in each sub-region, poverty was strongly associated with increased malnutrition among children, having access only to unsafe water and poor sanitation, and exposure to indoor air pollution. The authors suggest that halving the number of people who live on less than a dollar a day would still fail to reduce the prevalence of these health risks by the 50 per cent needed to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets.
Globalisation and poverty
This paper from World Institute for Development Economics Research looks at the impact of globalisation on rural poverty, in both the agricultural and non-agricultural sector. The paper analyses the processes through which globalisation, in terms of openness to foreign trade and long- term capital flows, affects the lives of the rural poor. The author believes that globalisation can cause many hardships for the poor but it also opens up opportunities which some countries utilise and others do not. This largely depends on their domestic political and economic institutions and policies.
The economic burden of illness for households
"Ill-health and the household costs of illness can undermine livelihoods and contribute to impoverishment, processes that have been brought into sharper focus by the social and economic impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Concerns about the links between ill-health and impoverishment have placed health at the centre of development agencies' poverty reduction targets and strategies and increased the weight of arguments for substantial health sector investments to improve access for the world's poorest people (WHO 2001)." The aim of this paper from the School of Development Studies at the University of East Anglia in the UK is to review and summarise studies that have measured the economic costs and consequences of illness for patients and their families, focusing on malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
Malnutrition expected to rise in Zimbabwe
Malnutrition and related diseases are expected to rise in Zimbabwe, peaking in the January to March 2005 period, according to a new report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). While staple cereals are increasingly unavailable in rural areas, maize prices on the parallel market continue to climb, limiting the ability of households to buy enough food to satisfy their needs, said both FEWS NET and the World Food Programme (WFP) in separate surveys.
Poverty in post-apartheid South Africa
This survey by the Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU) at the University of Cape Town of poverty in post-apartheid South Africa defines and examines poverty in the South African context. The aim of the report is to provide a picture of asset and services deprivation, economic activity, and health and safety. The report also examines the changes in these indicators from 1996 to 2001.
Cycle of poverty leads to recurring crises
Considering the high levels of chronic poverty in the Southern Africa region, and the ongoing impact of HIV/AIDS, safety net programmes will be required to support the poorest in the community over the long term. Cash-based transfers to supplement income are likely to be the most efficient and appropriate means of doing this, though in-kind safety nets, such as vouchers for education or health costs, or for subsidised agricultural inputs, will also be suitable in some circumstances.
Donor Fatigue Leaves 2.8m People Hungrier in Southern Africa
2004 ended on a grim note for many in Southern Africa, where emergency food supplies cannot meet their needs. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it had been cutting rations to more than 2.8 million people over the past six months, as it lacked the funding to purchase additional food supplies. "There will be serious health and nutritional repercussions if people have to accept a further reduction in their meagre rations," said Mike Sackett, WFP Regional Director for Southern Africa, in a press release issued December 22.
Southern Africa must prepare for recurring drought, report says
Southern Africa should prepare itself for recurring drought, likely to strike at least twice every decade, says a new report. The report, 'Anticipating and Responding to Drought and Emergencies in Southern Africa', was prepared for the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and noted that the region could experience a recurrence of the devastating drought of 2002/03, which resulted in a food deficit of 3.3 million mt. While the general regional situation shows some hopeful signs, the report noted the concerns of some policy experts that many households have become more vulnerable to shocks.