Poverty
Chapter 1
1.1 Introduction
Having obtain its independence 21 years ago in 1990, Namibia which is situated on Africa’s south-western seaboard with neighboring countries Angola ,Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. With an annual population growth of 1.9% in 2009, it is estimated that the population is now currently at 2.1 million (see World Bank 2009). Namibia has a stable economy that according to the United Nations Development Programmed (UNDP, 2003) is second in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of per capita expenditure in the health sector.
Namibia being a “middle income” country is faced like most developing countries with the rising problem of poverty. It is estimated that about 38% of the population live in severe poverty (Poverty Bulletin, 2005, p.9). According to the poverty reduction strategy for Namibia (1998, p.1) Namibia is among the most dualistic countries in the world both geographically and economically. Most of the population is situated in the northern regions of the country, where majority of the people depend on agriculture as a means to sustain their lives. Poverty in Namibia, is a very serious phenomenon that affects the economy severely, thus it is important to understanding all the factors that play a role in alleviating this phenomenon .finding the causes and ways to measure poverty can lead to obtaining effective policy actions .poverty can be defined in different ways with different dimensions included in these definitions. According to Newaka (2007, p.ii) relative and extreme poverty are present in Namibia with rural areas experiencing more poverty than urban areas.
After, chapter two will deal with the concept of poverty in Namibia. Poverty in rural and urban areas in Namibia will be addressed in chapter3 .chapter4 discusses the causes of poverty along with the measurements of poverty. Chapter 5 looks into development and poverty in Namibia as well as the trend of poverty over the years. Policy actions by Namibia will
1.1 Introduction
Having obtain its independence 21 years ago in 1990, Namibia which is situated on Africa’s south-western seaboard with neighboring countries Angola ,Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. With an annual population growth of 1.9% in 2009, it is estimated that the population is now currently at 2.1 million (see World Bank 2009). Namibia has a stable economy that according to the United Nations Development Programmed (UNDP, 2003) is second in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of per capita expenditure in the health sector.
Namibia being a “middle income” country is faced like most developing countries with the rising problem of poverty. It is estimated that about 38% of the population live in severe poverty (Poverty Bulletin, 2005, p.9). According to the poverty reduction strategy for Namibia (1998, p.1) Namibia is among the most dualistic countries in the world both geographically and economically. Most of the population is situated in the northern regions of the country, where majority of the people depend on agriculture as a means to sustain their lives. Poverty in Namibia, is a very serious phenomenon that affects the economy severely, thus it is important to understanding all the factors that play a role in alleviating this phenomenon .finding the causes and ways to measure poverty can lead to obtaining effective policy actions .poverty can be defined in different ways with different dimensions included in these definitions. According to Newaka (2007, p.ii) relative and extreme poverty are present in Namibia with rural areas experiencing more poverty than urban areas.
After, chapter two will deal with the concept of poverty in Namibia. Poverty in rural and urban areas in Namibia will be addressed in chapter3 .chapter4 discusses the causes of poverty along with the measurements of poverty. Chapter 5 looks into development and poverty in Namibia as well as the trend of poverty over the years. Policy actions by Namibia will
References: • A review of poverty and inequality in Namibia.(2008). National Planning Commission .Windhoek • Alcock, P • Fox, L. & Liebenthal. (Eds)(2006).Attacking Africa’s poverty: experience from the ground. Washington D.C.The World Bank • Human Development Report (1998) • Isaacs, D. (2007, April 10), UN agency impressed with Nam BIG. The Namibian .retrieved 02 may 2011 ,from http://www.namibian.com.na • Lindahl, C.(2005) • Millennium Development Goals. (2004). National Planning Commission .Windhoek • Namibia Income and Expenditure Survey 2003/2004.(2006) • National Planning Commission Annual Progress Report 2007-2008.(2009). National planning Commission. Windhoek • Newaka, S.T.T • Poverty Bulletin. (2005). National Planning Commission .Windhoek • Poverty Bulletin.(2010) .National Planning Commission .Windhoek • Poverty reduction strategy for Namibia.(1998) National Planning Commission .Windhoek • Schmidt, M (2009) • Schmidt, M. (2009) Poverty and inequality in Namibia: an overview. Institute for Public Policy Research. Windhoek • Stewart,F.,Saith,R & Harris-White,B.(2007) • The National Development Plan 3:2007/2008 – 2010/2011. (2008). National Planning Commission .Windhoek • Thirlwall, A.P (2003) • World Development Indicators(2009).Retrieved 22 April 2011,from http://www.woldbank.org STATEMENT OF SOLE AUTHORSHIP