"759,000 Swazis Are Very Poor"

A report was recently published by the United Nations Complementary Country Analysis in the Swaziland Post detailing the extreme levels of poverty found in Swaziland.

According to this report there are 759,000 Swazis, out of a population of 1.1 million, who are living below the poverty line. There are several causes for this dire situation; skewed wealth distribution, rampant HIV/AIDS, stagnant employment opportunities, and wide-spread food insecurity.

Swaziland "has the highest HIV prevalence in the world" and "without an intervention there are fears that the scourge could seriously erode Swaziland human capital base".

A big concern is the food shortage that affects about 1/4 of the population especially children. "At least 29 per cent of children under the age of five are showing signs of stunting which is an indication of malnutrition over an extended period". Drought, increasing food costs and unusable land have all contributed to this problem.

Most of the population lives in rural areas and "of these rural areas according to the UN, 75 per cent lives in poverty compared to 49 per cent of the urban population". Severe poverty especially affects women and female-run households because of limited income opportunities.

There is a great need for viable solutions that address the multitude of hardships that the Swazi people face on a daily basis.

Magagula, Mduduzi. "759,000 Swazis Are Very Poor." The Swaziland Post. June 2010.