[pronut-hiv] MALAWI: More than half the people still living in poverty - new report

["ProNut-HIV" <pronut-hiv@healthnet.org>]

JOHANNESBURG, 2 Jun 2006 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - Despite the efforts of the
past eight years, little has changed and Malawians are still just as
poor as they were, the latest government assessment has revealed.

More than half the country's population continues to live on around 32
US cents a day and just over a fifth of Malawians live on 20 US cents a
day.

"Poverty continues to be widespread in Malawi and there has been little
or no progress in reducing poverty and inequality since 1998", said the
draft Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment (PVA), jointly compiled by
the Malawi government and the World Bank.

The report's main source of information was the 2005 Integrated
Household Survey (HIS) by the National Statistics Office, the second one
ever carried out, which delivered "the best data on the state of poverty
we have ever had", World Bank Country Manager Timothy Gilbo told IRIN.

Comparing the figures with those in the 1998 HIS provided analysts with
new insight into prevailing conditions and allowed them to determine
what progress had been made. "Since 1998, not much has really changed,"
Gilbo said.

The survey found that 6.4 million people, more than half Malawi's
population [52 percent], were living below the poverty line, while 2.7
million, or about one-fifth [22 percent], were experiencing
ultra-poverty - "such dire poverty that they cannot afford to meet even
the daily recommended food requirements". Most of the poor were in rural
areas in the southern and northern parts of the country, with the
central region slightly better off.

A key factor in Malawi's high and persistent poverty is its very young
and rapidly expanding population. With 60 percent of its 12.3 million
population aged under 20, according to a 2005 estimate, "more than half
of the poor in Malawi are children".

"Even though the poverty level remained constant, the data shows that
poverty is dynamic - people move into and out of poverty," Gilbo
remarked. The report said this was because Malawi suffered from a
"frequent and widespread existence of shocks - drought, price volatility
[mainly food], illness and deaths are the main sources" of changing
circumstances.

The most serious challenge facing Malawi was widespread malnutrition:
"chronic malnutrition is endemic - a staggering 44 percent of
preschoolers are stunted", the report noted. "Poor nutrition is
surprisingly constant throughout all income levels. This points to other
factors next to only lack of food, like the need to diversify diets and
education about food," Gilbo said.

The fight against HIV/AIDS remained a national emergency. "HIV/AIDS is
putting considerable pressure on the public sector - only 31 percent of
communities have access to a health clinic, and drugs are not readily
available", the survey found.

According to Gilbo, the report highlights the need for better targeting
by social protection programmes. "Community-based programmes have not
worked well in hitting the poorest - there are no easy answers in
targeting, and this will remain one of the biggest challenges." Citing
the World Food Programme as an example, Gilbo said a lot had been done
to improve targeting since 2003.

Economic growth, rather than reshuffling income, would determine
whether Malawi managed to lift itself out of poverty, Gilbo said.
"Economic growth is essential, and this is something the government is
focusing on," he said.

The high level of domestic debt, now a dominant feature in Malawi's
economy, was hindering growth as well as poverty reduction, the report
commented. Interest payments represented an enormous burden - 35 percent
of the budget - which should be reduced, and the funds allocated to
growth and poverty reduction.