A report compiled by the National Planning Commission titled Namibia Poverty Mapping concluded that of the country’s 2.3 million people, about 570,000 are poor.
The report includes figures from the 2003/04 and 2009/10 Namibian Household Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES) data, as well as the 2001 and 2011 Namibia Population and Housing Census data.
Although the number of people still living on just more than one U.S dollar per day has declined over the year, the report says 568,416 people are still struggling.
According to the report, seven regions – Otjozondjupa, Oshikoto, Omusati, Ohangwena, Kunene, Zambezi and Kavango – had a combined poverty incidences above the national rate of 26.9 percent.
The Kavango region was singled out as the only region where more than half of its 222,500 people are poor. This represents about 21 percent of the total population of those surviving on less than one U.S dollar per day in Namibia.
Kavango was also found to have 63 percent of its population materially deprived and 50 percent unemployed.
The report also trimmed down the poverty ranking levels to Namibia’s 121 constituencies, pointing out that the poorest is Epupa Constituency in the Kunene Region that has 69 percent of its 12,816 people poor.
Furthermore, the report says, poverty levels in two Khomas, where the capital Windhoek is, and Zambezi regions increased. Khomas that has a population of 250,262, saw an increase of 1.2 percent while the Zambezi, with a population of 556, 000, had 7.2 percent.
On a positive note, the report says some regions saw poverty levels receding resulting in 125,277 escaping the jaws of poverty between 2001 and 2011.
Four of the regions – Ohangwena, Omusati, Kunene and Oshikoto – are in the northern part of the country and one, Omaheke, is in the eastern part of the country.
The Minister of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare Zephaniah Kameeta who attended the launch of the report said he has a challenging task.
“As the first minister of this new ministry, the task entrusted to us is a challenging one, though not insurmountable. These reports will tell us who the poor are and where they are,” he said.
Tom Alweendo, the Minister of Economic Planning under which the National Planning Commission falls said policymakers should use the findings of the report to fight poverty. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
