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Wednesday 18 December 2013

SEVEN IN TEN SWAZIS GO HUNGRY

Nearly seven in ten Swazi people say they have not had enough food to eat in the past year.

And, more than eight in ten say they did not have a cash income.

Also, more than half said they did not have clean water to use at home.

These indicators of the extent of poverty in Swaziland were revealed in research conducted by Afrobarometer.

The research organisation interviewed 1,200 people aged 18 or over across the whole of Swaziland on their living and economic conditions.

Afrobarometer asked about conditions over the past 12 months: 19 percent of people questioned said they did not have enough food to eat, ‘many times / always’ over the past year. Another 46 percent said they had gone without food, ‘just once or twice / several times’.

A total of 47 percent said they did not have a cash income, ‘many times / always’ over the past year. Another 38 percent said they had no cash income, ‘just once or twice / several times’.

Twenty-four percent said they did not have enough water for home use, ‘many times / always’ over the past year. Another 29 percent said they did not have enough water, ‘just once or twice / several times’.
Afrobarometer is an African-led network of survey researchers and analysts, working in up to 35 countries on the continent.

It states its goal is, ‘To give the public a voice in policy making processes by providing high-quality public opinion data to policy-makers, policy advocates and civil society organizations, academics, media, donors and investors, and ordinary Africans.’

The experiences of poverty uncovered by Afrobarometer confirm what is already known about hunger in Swaziland. Earlier this year the United Nations World Food programme reported that Swaziland lost US$92 million per year in the economy because people were too hungry to work properly.

In 2012, three separate reports from the World Economic Forum, United Nations and the Institute for Security Studies all concluded the Swazi government was largely to blame for the economic recession and subsequent increasing number of Swazis who had to skip meals.

The reports placed the blame at the financial mismanagement of the Swazi government.

The reports listed low growth levels, government wastefulness and corruption, and lack of democracy and accountability as some of the main reasons for the economic downturn that has led to an increasing number of starving Swazis.

In 2012 a report published by 24/7 Wall St in the United States, and based on data from the World Bank, identified Swaziland as the fifth poorest country in the entire world.

See also

ECONOMY FAILS, ONE IN TEN GO HUNGRY
GOVT SELLS MAIZE DONATED FOR HUNGRY

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