Report about the Poor

A Namibian government report (28 November 2008) has revealed that three times as many people as previously thought are living in severe poverty.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) found that nearly a third of Namibia's 1.8 million people lived on US$1 a day or less, but noted a sharp rise in households classified as "severely poor", or living on less than N$185 (US$19) per month. The shift has been attributed to a change in research methodology now considered best practice in southern Africa - the "Cost of Basic Needs" - which reset poverty lines along the minimum expenditure required for each household to have a base caloric intake and access to basic non-food needs such as clothing and shelter.

The report also revealed that many existing social grants, such as pensions, were being used to feed more recipients than intended. In households headed by people over the age of 65 years, pensions were the main source of income in 50 percent of households.
(Read report at http://allafrica.com/stories/200811280737.html)