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Poverty Alleviation and Entrepreneurship

Poverty Alleviation and Entrepreneurship
Research shows supporting entrepreneurship in low-income countries may be one of the most effective ways to permanently reduce global poverty. Despite this, this method of poverty reduction has often been overlooked. This is due to the fact that there has been limited information on its positive impact. However, with more information compiled, individuals in positions of power have sought to make it a focus of poverty reduction. The Global Partnership for Poverty and Entrepreneurship (GPPE) is an organization that has collected a plethora of this data. The resources on the GPPE website provide countless examples of poverty alleviation and entrepreneurship.

The Global Partnership for Poverty and Entrepreneurship

Established in November 2019, the GPPE officially launched in May 2020. This partnership was created by the University of Notre Dame with the intent of building up a research base that can help with future initiatives in supporting low-income individuals with entrepreneurial pursuits throughout the world. In an interview with Dr. Michael Morris, the head of this start-up, the three main objectives of this organization became clear. The first objective was to gather information on entrepreneurial startups in poor communities throughout the world. The second objective was to teach individuals about compiled information within poor communities in order to allow for community uplift. The third objective was to reach out to academics who have an influence on getting more research done on these topics and easily spread techniques to those within their academic influences.

Overall, the GPPE wants to get more people on the ground within impoverished communities. These people would support the poor with their entrepreneurial endeavors. The GPPE is currently setting up example programs within the United States. The purpose of these programs is to prove resources in various areas can be useful in supporting low-income individuals. Within South Bend, Indiana one of these example programs is the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative. This initiative uses resources from the Notre Dame community, especially from the students, to help poor individuals set up entrepreneurial endeavors. Students have helped create social media platforms and helped with marketing for the impoverished in the South Bend community. This is just one idea countries around the world can use to help reduce global poverty.

Entrepreneurship Among the Youth in Swaziland

A study on the youth in Swaziland has provided important information on where certain entrepreneurial systems are lacking within Africa. Other countries can use this study as a resource to help enact systems for poverty alleviation through entrepreneurship. Inadequate work experience provided within universities, a lack of youth voice in entrepreneurial policies and weak business environments are all factors that have driven the youth within Swaziland to have poor entrepreneurial experiences in the past. Organizations like the Youth Enterprise Fund, created in 2009 in Swaziland, have struggled to support new entrepreneurs.

Models have, however, been created in order to show the effects of government intervention when it comes to reducing obstacles that hinder the growth of young entrepreneurs, which can be extremely useful. Examples of influential government intervention include granting youth greater access to capital and giving them business training. Business training in particular has shown to make an enormous difference among the youth of Swaziland with regards to sales. A mixture of giving the youth in Africa more educational resources and professional connections has proven to greatly improve their entrepreneurial success and thus help them rise out of poverty.

Poverty-Reducing Work of Women in Bangladesh

In many low-income countries, the workforce does not utilize women as often as men. This can cause the viewpoint of women being financially burdening. Creating entrepreneurial and employment opportunities for women positively impacts their livelihoods. This is especially true for women living in rural areas. Within Bangladesh, a company called Hathay Bunano has given women both jobs and resources to build enterprises on their own. What this establishment has found is that not utilizing women is a huge waste of production resources. This includes supporting more women artisans through developing pride in the ownership of a product.

Hathay Bunano has worked to employ women who are at the most disadvantaged positions within Bangladesh. The organization has shown that simply giving these women jobs boosts their self-confidence in order to create better lives for themselves. Hathay Bunano is a company that produces hand-knit toys which is important in the context of proving that handicraft businesses can thrive in a competitive economic market. Overall, evidence shows providing grounding for poor women to start businesses that can be supported by their skill levels is plausible.

In conclusion, information that the GPPE has compiled, including the two studies mentioned above, shows poverty alleviation and entrepreneurship can go hand in hand. Working to inform more individuals on how communities can support the poor in their creation of businesses and entrepreneurship will transform low-income countries’ economies and the lives of the poor within them.

– Olivia Bay
Photo: Flickr

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Fighting Poverty in Eswatini

Fighting poverty in EswatiniEswatini, formerly Swaziland, is a landlocked African country positioned between South Africa and Mozambique. As of 2017, it was estimated that almost 60% of Eswatini’s estimated 1.2 million residents lived below the poverty line. Eswatini depends heavily on the economy of South Africa. It derives the bulk of both its imports and exports from this neighboring, middle-income country. Though the lilangeni, Eswatini’s currency, is on par with the South African rand, Eswatini’s economic dependency on the South African economy places it in a weaker trade position. Unemployment, heavy dependence on agriculture despite unpredictable weather, HIV/AIDS and high rates of inequality contribute to Eswatini’s struggle to develop economic independence. An increased focus on fighting poverty in Eswatini is imperative.

Eswatini’s Wealth Gap Problem

Efforts to develop Eswatini’s economy have resulted in a widening gap between the wealthy and the poor; as the portion of wealthy people in Eswatini increases, there is a subsequent increase in the poor population. Moreover, policies for economic development often bypass the poor, contributing to worsening inequality. The policies tend to increase business in urban areas, which does not help much in fighting poverty in Eswatini because far more people in rural areas suffer from poverty than their urban counterparts.

The economic insecurity of impoverished people in Eswatini is in large part due to unpredictable weather patterns as the rural economy is highly reliant on agricultural yield. Additionally, a system of land allocation which provides each man with a small plot of land, through a practice called khonta, can contribute to land degradation. Though khonta seems beneficial, often the land becomes overworked and rendered useless in farmers’ desperation to make ends meet. Also, owning a plot of land might discourage farmers from journeying into cities to seek education or other ventures.

A Consequence of Eswatini’s Colonization

Eswatini’s history as a colonized country contributes to its present-day living conditions. The colonization of Eswatini by the British in the 1930s resulted in a disparity between the colonizers and the colonized. The colonizers perceived those who assimilated as modern and enterprising. Therefore, those people tended to flock to cities. The rest, the colonizers considered backward and remained in neglected rural areas. Therefore, the post-colonial line of thought was that the solution to fighting poverty in Eswatini was to develop or modernize the lives of those living in rural areas.

Fighting Poverty with Education

However, Ackson M. Kanduza, a modern scholar, has argued for more holistic approaches to fighting poverty in Eswatini. In his opinion, Eswatini should focus on enriching the lives of children under 15, who make up just under 50% of the Sub-African population.

Children are one of the groups most vulnerable to disease and are frequently experience child labor. Kanduza advocates for enriching children’s education, skills and quality of life, which could decrease poverty because children are points of integration in society. The statistics support this theory. In illiterate households, the poverty rate was 71%, whereas that rate dropped to 30% in houses with primary school education.

Fighting poverty in Eswatini will require the reallocation of resources to close the gap between the wealthy and the poor. This means increasing access to education, health care, clean drinking water and job prospects for people living in rural areas. It will also involve integration between cities and the surrounding rural areas. One method that could help is direct investment from foreign aid so that Eswatini can develop the strength of its own economy. Finally, focusing on enriching the lives of the Eswatini youth through education could provide new opportunities for generations to come.

– Elise Ghitman
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Homelessness in Eswatini

Homelessness in Swaziland
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is an enclaved country within Southern Africa. The nation faces a massive problem of homelessness caused by a broken system of human rights and poverty. The country’s land governance system has unfairly sent many people out of their homes. King Mswati III owns much of the land that the people live on — leaving the Swazi people powerless when evictions occur. These evictions hit women and other marginalized groups especially hard, as they do not have protection under the law. AIDS, HIV and the eradication of agriculture for land development have also played a role in worsening homelessness in Eswatini.

Land Insecurity

Farming is a vital part of the Swazi peoples’ livelihood. Yet, recent land development disputes have begun to hurt farming practices with evictions leaving hundreds of people homeless. These evictions have occurred at the hands of police and bulldozers, which destroyed many homes. To make matters worse, many newly-evicted people have no alternative or even temporary shelter. In April 2018, dozens of people and more than 30 children became homeless — forced to live in inhumane conditions. Some people slept at a local school, some slept outside of their now-demolished home and some slept in a chicken shed.

As more people increasingly fall victim to homelessness in Eswatini, fewer places exist for families to purchase goods for themselves. It has been difficult to fight these evictions due to the country’s government being an absolute monarchy. As a result, people cannot overturn the policies that the king has put in place. These forced evictions come from not only Mswati III owning the land, but also private entities and/or the government owning some as well. This leaves the Swazi people at a high risk of eviction without preparation, warning or recompense.

Connections to HIV

The contraction of HIV has also contributed to the problem of homelessness in Eswatini. Almost 40% of sexually active Swazi adults are positive of the virus. As adults suffer or die as a result of HIV contraction, their children and other members of their households are left without a breadwinner. Sometimes, these homes become children-led. This makes it easier for the government to remove the homes with no plan or adequate place for the family to live afterward.

What is Being Done?

Amnesty International, a non-government organization focused on human rights, reported human rights violations causing homelessness in Eswatini. Moreover, Amnesty International assessed that the violations were caused by the country’s government. The organization has recommended and pushed the prime minister, attorney general and the minister of justice to address this problem. It has urged the prime minister to prohibit all evictions due to violations of legal protections and lack of adequate housing. Specifically, in the regions of Malkerns and Nokwane, the prime minister is to protect the people and provide them with safe places to live until they find a home. The attorney general is to put into law the stoppage of all forced evictions regardless of the circumstance. Relevant institutions would have to go through the proper procedures, before evicting someone.

Upon converting these policies into law, the attorney general is to make sure their new land policy is in line with international human rights involving housing. In this way, the government is taking action to reduce the problem of homelessness in Eswatini.

– Dorian Ducre
Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in Eswatini Remains Severe

Hunger in Eswatini
The Kingdom of Eswatini (referred to as Swaziland until 2019) is a small country in the southern tip of Africa, bordering South Africa and Mozambique. The country has a dense population of around 1.14 million, and it is estimated that 63% live below the poverty line. Eswatini is currently ranked 74 out of 117 countries on the Global Hunger Index and received a GHI score of 20.9, putting them at a “serious” hunger level. The 2019 Eswatini Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis (VAA) estimated that as much as 25% of the rural population — around 232,000 people — experience severe hunger and food insecurity during the lean season.

Little to no rain across Eswatini poses a huge threat for the harvest season. Many farmers choose not to plant their usual amount of crops in anticipation of severe drought, and crop production is projected to decrease by 30% in the coming years. Labor opportunities on farms also decrease, as a result depriving some people of their source of income for the season. Decreased crop yield leads to a huge spike in prices, which limits food access for those already living in poverty.

Hunger Leads to Increased Sickness and Disease

Sickness and disease are typically more prevalent in tight-knit communities that face hunger and poverty daily. Often, sickness in impoverished countries is a direct result of prolonged deficiencies of essential nutrients and inadequate caloric intake. Eswatini has a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, with an estimated 25% of the population being infected. HIV is a disease that harms the immune system, meaning many Swazi citizens experiencing HIV are at a heightened risk for other infections.

The under-five mortality rate for children in Eswatini is 54 out of 1,000 live births, the lowest value on record as of 2018. In terms of maternal health in Swazi women, there is not enough data on their specific nutrition and diet habits. However, it is important to note that approximately one-third of women of childbearing age experience HIV, compared to only 19% of men. The high prevalence of HIV in pregnant and nursing mothers increases the likelihood that their children will experience nutrient deficiencies as a result. Fortunately, HIV can be prevented with proper sexual practices and an increase in condom usage.

Factors Increasing Hunger in Eswatini

Citizens have attempted to import maize from the neighboring country of South Africa, but much of it is confiscated by border control due to strict limitations on the amount of foreign products allowed into the country. Government officials claim that these regulations help protect domestic vendors and farmers, but many citizens are unable to afford the local prices. With limited access to imported goods and steep domestic rates, many Eswatini people are left helpless and hungry.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all the residents of the Kwaluseni township have lost their jobs, forcing people to stay home and avoid going to their place of work. Already impoverished citizens, now with no source of income, have resorted to scavenging for food. Some have even been sighted consuming weeds for sustenance. Local soup kitchens and schools were also forced to shut their doors due to coronavirus concerns, leaving more than 11,000 children without daily access to meals. Before, children received two meals a day provided by the government and various international donors. Now, the Swazi government has offered little to no aid to combat the exacerbated hunger crisis, especially in its larger cities.

Foreign Assistance Has Begun, But It’s Not Enough

Many foreign aid organizations have helped fund the World Food Programme (WFP) in Eswatini, reaching over 55,000 people in vulnerable areas this past year. WFP also provides support to many orphans and vulnerable children by establishing Neighbourhood Care Points for food and social services across the country. While much is being done to help the people of Eswatini, more resources are needed to cover a growing funding gap.

The hunger crisis in the Kingdom of Eswatini is an immense threat to the livelihoods and wellbeing of Swazi people. As a result, organizations such as the WFP are stepping in to help those in need. Along with the help of outside organizations, understanding hunger in Eswatini is an important step toward finding a long-lasting, successful solution.

– Mya Longacre
Photo: Flickr

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8 Facts About the Fight Against HIV in Eswatini

HIV in Eswatini
Swaziland or Eswatini, as it was officially renamed in 2018 by King Mswati III, is a tiny landlocked country in Southern Africa. It has the highest prevalence of HIV in the world, with the disease infecting about 31% of its sexually-active population. In 2018, HIV infected about 8,000 new adults and caused approximately 3,000 new fatalities. However, recent data suggests that the country has found ways to slash the new rate of infections by almost 45%. Here are eight facts about the fight against HIV in Eswatini.

8 Facts About Eswatini’s Fight Against HIV

  1. Mode of transmission: Heterosexual sex is the primary way HIV is transmitted, with about 94% of all new cases coming from it. The disease affects sex workers, adolescent girls and young men and women significantly more than other demographics.
  2. Poverty and education: Almost 59% of people in Eswatini live below the poverty line. Some regions have still not been able to recover from the regional droughts of 2015 and 2016. Due to poor economic conditions, young girls are often unable to continue their education. As a result, they are less empowered to negotiate for safer sex and sometimes also have to resort to prostitution. Rampant poverty also means that many suffering from the disease cannot afford proper healthcare.
  3. Most affected age group: Adults between the ages of 15 and 49 are most affected by HIV. Over the long term, this has induced major cultural changes surrounding death and illness. It has also led to an expansion of services such as life insurance and mortuary.
  4. Impact on women: HIV has affected women disproportionately. 35.1% of women in Eswatini are living with HIV, compared to 19.3% of men. This stems from widespread gender inequality in the country. Gender-based violence and men indulging in more than one partnership at the same time increase the risk of women contracting HIV. King Mswati withheld royal assent on The 2015 Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill, which could offer more protection to women. The bill finally passed in 2018, however. This is an essential first step for improving gender equality in Eswatini.
  5. Condition of children: About 11,000 children (0-14 years) were living with HIV in Eswatini as of 2018. Only 76% of these children were on ARV treatment. Approximately 45,000 children have also been orphaned due to AIDS-related illnesses. Fortunately, the number of new infections and AIDS-related deaths have reduced to fewer than 1,000 each year.
  6. Increase in circumcision: The proportion of men opting to be circumcised increased significantly in recent years. Circumcision is a scientifically-proven way of reducing the transmission of the virus. The rate of male circumcision in the productive age group (15-49 years) more than doubled from 7% in 2007 to 19% in 2010.
  7. The 90-90-90 model: UNAIDS has developed the 90–90–90 testing and treatment targets to help Eswatini and other countries across the world address HIV and AIDS. Local and national efforts are working towards the following three goals by 2020: 90% of people living with HIV will be aware of their HIV-positive status, 90% of those who have been diagnosed with HIV will continuously and consistently receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 90% of all people who are receiving ART will have viral suppression. The 90-90-90 model is a world-renowned global benchmark to curb the spread of HIV in geographies with high prevalence.
  8. Availability of condoms: Targeted mass media campaigns promote condom use and sexual health services distribute condoms across the county. These efforts have resulted in about 51 condoms per year per male available in Eswatini. However, in spite of increased availability, condom use has actually declined. This suggests that a change in mentality is more important than increasing the distribution of condoms.

It is clear that Eswatini has made great strides in the fight against HIV in recent years. However, the high HIV prevalence indicates the government needs to address significant problems such as poverty, gender inequality and risky cultural practices, which contribute to a high risk of HIV infection. Moving forward, a greater focus must be placed on combatting HIV in Eswatini.

– Akshay Anand
Photo: Flickr
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Improving Healthcare in Swaziland

healthcare in Swaziland
Swaziland, a country bordering South Africa and Mozambique, has seen increased conflicts in regard to its healthcare system. With a population of 1.13 million, a majority of its citizens have faced trouble accessing quality healthcare. However, the government of Swaziland is focused on improving healthcare and the well-being of its citizens.

Deficiencies in the Healthcare System

The importance of healthcare to Swaziland’s citizens stems from the presence of numerous diseases. With an estimated 220,000 citizens living with HIV, as well as lower respiratory infections being the second most common cause of death, diseases have been an ongoing issue for decades. Furthermore, road traffic accidents have heavily hurt Swaziland citizens, as it difficult to recover from serious injury without sufficient medical care. There is also a high infant mortality rate, with 54.4 deaths per 1000 births.

With a majority of citizens burdened from disease, the need for improvements to Swaziland’s healthcare system is great. With outdated structuring and a lack of medical supplies, hospitals are becoming increasingly inaccessible to the public. Since the average salary for a citizen in Swaziland is only 6,000 SZL (341 USD), people cannot afford the cost of healthcare. These conditions leads many families to treat themselves. As diseases such as HIV continue to affect Swaziland’s citizens, the healthcare system must become accessible to all.

The Road to Change

In an attempt to combat the spread of disease and improve the accessibility to quality healthcare, Swaziland’s government has launched its Universal Health Coverage program. The government is now increasing spending on health services while improving access to resources.

To increase accessibility, Swaziland has decreased the costs related to healthcare tremendously. Families of any financial background can now have an equal opportunity to acquire affordable and quality healthcare.

In addition, honorable Minister of Health Senator Sibongile Ndlela-Simelane called for a national screening, so that all citizens will know their health numbers. These numbers include blood pressure and sugar and cholesterol levels. This program helps individuals detect health problems early, leading them to utilize Swaziland’s healthcare. Swaziland has also increased the quality of their technology by adopting x-ray machines.

Program Results

With the establishment of the campaign, over 2,000 people of all ages have received screening for diseases. In addition, health numbers were recorded for thousands for future reference.

For the rising problem with HIV, it is important to note that 87% of all individuals who tested positive received sustainable therapy. Additionally, deaths related to AIDS decreased by 50% and the infant mortality rate stooped to 43 deaths per 1,000 births.

Moving Forward

This accelerated growth has heavily boosted morale in Swaziland. With increased government spending in the healthcare sector and a boost in accessibility for healthcare, Swaziland likely has a bright future.

To continue this growth for the long term, Swaziland’s government must pay attention to the infant mortality rate. Despite improvements, Swaziland’s life expectancy rate for infants is among the lowest in the world. Moving forward, Swaziland must make this issue a priority as they continue to work toward providing access to high quality health care to all citizens.

– Aditya Padmaraj 
Photo: Flickr

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Improving Access to Electricity in Eswatini

Eswatini, formerly called Swaziland, is a small, mountainous, landlocked country surrounded on all sides by South Africa and in close proximity to Mozambique. While Eswatini is classified as a lower-middle-income country, severe poverty and high unemployment rates still plague the nation. One demonstration of this poverty manifests in a lack of access to electricity. According to World Bank data, about 36.6% of Eswatini’s population lacked access to electricity in 2016. This is in large part due to the fact that Eswatini does not produce much of its own electricity. Rather, it obtains much of it, along with many other imports, from South Africa. In recent years, organizations like the World Bank have been working to improve access to electricity in Eswatini, but there is still much work to do.

Governmental Efforts

In Eswatini, the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA) regulates the country’s electric supply industry, while the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) acts as the national utility. The Eswatini Electricity Company is state-owned and controls hydropower stations in Maguga, Ezulwini, Edwaleni and Maguduza. Despite this, Eswatini is a net importer of electricity due to the fact that its domestic electricity generation is insufficient to meet national demand. This can be attributed in large part to a lack of water storage, which has led to severe variations in annual domestic generation output over the years. However, the Eswatini Government is looking to become more energy independent in the near future and has implemented the Rural Electrification Program (REP), which has increased the percentage of Eswatini residents with access to proper electricity to almost 75% in 2017.

The World Bank’s Role in Eswatini’s Electrical Supply

In conjunction with the REP, the World Bank has also aided in improving Eswatini’s electricity supply. One of the World Bank’s most notable projects in Eswatini is the four-part Network Reinforcement and Access Project. The first two components focus on strengthening the transmission and distribution network in Shiselweni and building upon the REP program to finance additional household connections. The third component provides analytical support by financing technical aid and the fourth component is designed to improve Eswatini’s ability to respond to major economic or social emergencies. These efforts by the World Bank have proved to be extraordinarily helpful in Eswatini’s efforts to become a nation that produces its own energy.

Final Steps

Eswatini has taken major steps forward to address its electricity dependence issues. However, the country is still struggling overall in this regard and more work is necessary in order for the nation to become energy independent.  Funding from the World Bank, as well as from organizations like the United Nations, will be of great help to Eswatini as the government seeks to improve access to electricity for residents.

– Jade Thompson
Photo: Flickr

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Girls’ Education in Swaziland

Girls' Education in Swaziland
In Swaziland, a relatively small, landlocked country in Southern Africa, a surprising trend has emerged: girls are receiving education at a higher rate than boys. According to the latest count on gross enrollment rate, the percentage of girls at every level of schooling has been higher than boys. However, due to the high rate of poverty, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and teenage pregnancies, the education of girls in Swaziland still has a lot of room for improvement.

Girls’ Education in Swaziland

Currently, although 97 percent of girls enroll at some point into primary school, only 37.7 percent of them continue into secondary education. Beyond that, only about 5.5 percent enroll in tertiary education.

One of the biggest obstacles in the way of girls’ education in Swaziland is poverty. Primary education in Swaziland currently operates under the Free Primary Education grant, launched in 2010, which stipulates that families send all children to public primary schools up to grade seven from the ages of six to 11. As of 2014, this program has enrolled about 80 percent of primary school-aged Swazi children. However, schools charge annual top-up fees, averaging at $76 per year, to cover running costs. With 58.9 percent of Swazis living below the national poverty line, defined as $2 or less per day, higher education becomes out of reach for many girls. This has resulted in many families withdrawing from educational programs in order to pay for the ever-growing costs of basic necessities such as food and medications.

Health Care, HIV/AIDS and Pregnancy

Next, the health care issues that have plagued Swazis for decades often disproportionately affect girls. The country experiences a significant HIV/AIDS gender gap which has been widening in recent years, with girls between the ages of 10 and 14 being almost twice as likely to have contracted HIV/AIDS than boys of the same age. HIV/AIDS inhibits children from attending schools as income initially used for school fees often becomes redirected toward medications.

Premature parental deaths caused by HIV/AIDS has also led to record-high numbers of orphans in the country. With few institutions in place to cope with the crisis, many of these minors, especially girls, become heads of families. As a result, they must forfeit their education in order to care for their siblings.

In addition, the country has a high rate of teenage pregnancies, many of them resulting from sexual abuse by close male relatives. One in three girls report having experienced sexual violence before the age of 18. With less than 30 percent of sex occurring with contraceptives, many of these sexual relationships result in teen pregnancies. Although there are no explicit laws in the country to exclude pregnant students from schools, local communities often ridicule and stigmatize these young mothers, which, often in combination with the needs of their children (schools rarely offer childcare or support), frequently results in them dropping out. The numbers indicate this because although 98 percent of Swazi children enroll in primary school at some point in their lives, only 27 percent enroll in secondary school.

UNICEF, Children’s HopeChest and mothers2mothers International

There is, however, much hope for the future for girls’ education in Swaziland. For example, UNICEF is currently actively collaborating with the Swazi government as well as the U.N. to decrease teenage pregnancy and to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The organization has dedicated human resources to Swaziland starting in 1968 and has since then engaged the Parliament to adopt better legislation regarding health and education issues and have supported strategies reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS through changes in community behaviors. Many NGOs are also invested in the issue, including Children’s HopeChest, which has been working to empower orphans in Swaziland by constructing housing and other facilities for them. Since 2004, the organization has impacted over 7,000 children. Furthermore, mothers2mothers International operates in Swaziland with the goal of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV as well as providing support for individuals and families who have contracted the disease. Between its inaugural year of 2008 to its last data count in 2017, the program has enrolled 68,796 clients.

Conclusively, although the girls’ education in Swaziland still has many obstacles to overcome, including poverty, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and teenage pregnancy, there is much hope on the horizon. Today, over 95 percent of female Swazis are literate and that number should grow. With new educational and health programs being put in place by both the government and NGOs, teenage pregnancy and HIV rates are almost certain to decrease within the next decade.

– Linda Yan
Photo: Flickr

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Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Swaziland

Swaziland Hunger
Swaziland is a small, landlocked Southern African country that borders South Africa and Mozambique. The country is only 120 miles long and 81 miles wide and has a population of less than 1.5 million, making it one of the smallest countries in Africa in these regards. The Swazi population faces some major health issues, the most severe among them being HIV and tuberculosis. The biggest concern for the country is, however, the widespread hunger. Keep reading to learn the top 10 facts about hunger in Swaziland.

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Swaziland

  1. Swaziland has a score of 22.5 out of 50 on the Global Hunger Index (GHI), indicating that the level of hunger in the country is serious. The country ranks 76th out of 119 qualifying countries. This indicator is calculated using factors such as child undernutrition, inadequate food supply and child mortality. Although hunger is still a huge problem in Swaziland, the GHI score is trending generally downwards, from 28.9 in 2000 to 22.5 currently.
  2. Around 25.5 percent of Swazi children under the age of 5 show signs of growth stunting or being irreversibly short for their age. In real numbers, this is around 43,000 children. This number is trending downwards and has dropped for 11.1 percent from 36.6 percent in 2000. Stunting is an indicator of child undernutrition due to the particular vulnerability of children to dietary deficiencies.
  3. Child undernutrition has significant economic ramifications for Swaziland. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), approximately $92 million or 3.1 percent of the country’s GDP was lost in 2009 as a direct result of child undernutrition. These costs come from clinical episodes, grade repetition and school dropouts (more common in stunted children) and loss of working hours due to undernutrition.
  4. Forty percent of adults in Swaziland are considered to have stunted growth due to undernutrition as children. This presents a significant challenge for these individuals as most job opportunities require manual labor. The WFP estimates losses of $14.8 million in 2009 due to the impaired physical capacity of this demographic.
  5. According to national surveys, the country has reduced the population living under the poverty line from 69 to 63 percent. However, there has been no improvement in the last decade regarding the high levels of income inequality. It is estimated that around 40.6 percent of Swazi people live under $1.25 per day.
  6. Life expectancy in Swaziland is trending upwards. Between 2000 and 2002, life expectancy at birth stood at 46.5 years but rose to 48.7 years from 2009 to 2016. This is still far below the World Health Organization’s estimated global average of 72 years in 2016.
  7. The country has slashed the rate of new HIV infections by 44 percent through a number of initiatives including greater access to anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). A 2017 Washington D.C.-funded survey found that 73.1 percent of the infected population has fully suppressed the virus and the HIV incidence had dropped to 1.4 percent. Proper nutrition also has an impact on the ability of those infected to maintain a healthy weight and absorb HIV medication.
  8. Swaziland consistently fails to produce enough maize, its staple crop, to fulfill its population’s needs. Around 140,000 metric tonnes (MT) of the crop would be needed to satisfy the population’s requirement, but only 84,344 MT was produced in 2016/2017 and 33,460 MT in 2015/2016.
  9. Drought is a huge factor when it comes to agricultural production. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the majority of Swazi people live in rural areas, and over 70 percent or more than a million people rely on subsistence farming.
  10. Swaziland’s under-5 mortality rate (per 1,000) is on the decline. In 2016, this metric stood at 70.4 compared to 120 a decade prior.

These top 10 facts about hunger in Swaziland presented in this article highlight the issues that the country still faces in its development and the progress that has been made to combat food insecurity, especially in children.

– Chelsey Crowne
Photo: Flickr

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Top 5 Facts about Living Conditions in Swaziland

Top 10 Facts about Living Conditions in Swaziland

Swaziland has endeavored to increase employment and economic growth. Among these efforts, still more work needs to further these goals and priorities. One area that the country has made progress in is improving living conditions in Swaziland by reducing the number of people living below the poverty line. With continued effort, Swaziland can make positive steps in strengthening its healthcare system, increasing employment rates and economic growth and increasing the retention rate of girls in school. These top 5 facts about living conditions in Swaziland will show where they are succeeding and where they need more work.

Top 5 Facts about Living Conditions in Swaziland

  1. In Swaziland, unemployment rates, in general, have not changed much in the past few years, hovering around 26 percent. There are further discrepancies between unemployment rates for women. For example, in 2007 and 2010, the rates stayed level around 30 percent. For men, however, the rates between 2007 and 2010 were 24.0 percent and 22.7 percent. There is still more work to be done in increasing youth employment. In fact, Swaziland has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in Africa. The unemployment rate has remained higher than 50 percent since 2007. Specifically, working to reduce youth unemployment is a major part in helping reducing unemployment as a whole. Solutions to decrease youth unemployment are tertiary reforms and increasing vocational and on-the-job training. In addition, adding more growth to the private sector is key to helping to create high paying and productive jobs. Companies like Orange and OpenClassrooms are working to provide digital education to Africa’s youth to help young people find jobs in the tech markets.
  2. There has been some progress made in the living conditions in Swaziland by reducing the number of people living below the poverty line. According to the Swaziland Household Income and Expenditure Survey, the percentage of people living below the poverty line was 69 percent in 2001. However, the percentage had dropped by more than half to 30 percent in 2015. These numbers represent, on average, 20 percent for those living in urban areas, but for those living in rural areas, it was as high as 37 percent. Reasons for such high poverty rates were the decrease in incomes, the stagnation of private consumption and the decrease in the GDP.
  3. As a whole, economic growth has declined in Swaziland. Real GDP growth decreased from 1.3 percent in 2016 to 1 percent in 2017. Economic growth was projected to be at 1.5 percent in 2018. Factors that have contributed to the decline in economic growth are low demand from pivotal export market destinations, especially from South Africa and Eurozone. In addition, the sector also experienced a decline in economic growth and a loss of eligibility in status to trade under the African Growth and Opportunity Act Arrangement. Swaziland’s average GDP annual growth rate had been its highest in 1990 at 21 percent, but it dropped significantly down to .7 percent in 2016. Fortunately, the GDP annual growth rate had risen up to 2.3 percent in 2017.
  4. The healthcare system consists of formal and informal sectors. Health practitioners and general service providers make up the informal sector while industry, private and public health services as well as nongovernmental organizations make up the formal sector. Swaziland puts around 3.8 percent of its GDP towards healthcare, the government providing 65 percent of the money, which is about 2 percent of its GDP. The federal budget was increased from 7 percent in 1998 to 9 percent in 2009.
  5. There still is more work to be done in closing the gender gap in education. Swaziland’s educational levels are primary education, secondary education, vocational education and tertiary education. Although there is not a great disparity between boy and girls attending primary, dropout rates do tend to rise by year 5 of secondary school. More work needs to be done in increasing the retention rates for both girls and boys in school, although more work is needed for female retention. While there are not as many obstacles for girls starting school, there are numerous obstacles that hinder girls from staying in school. Between the ages of 15 and 19, 50 percent of girls will not have completed secondary school, compared to 39 percent of boys. Some of the obstacles are poverty, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and gender insensitivity. Furthermore, more than two-thirds of families live in poverty, and many find difficulties in paying for school fees and other costs.

These 5 facts about living conditions in Swaziland show that, while there is more work to be done in areas of employment, economic, growth and education, there has been notable progress in helping to improve the living conditions of the people. One area that has seen progress is the reduction of the number of those living below the poverty line. With more effort, Swaziland can see positive developments in helping the lives of all people.

– Daniel McAndrew-Greiner

Photo: Flickr