Resource information
The report documents poverty in Zamia
along a number of dimensions, including material
deprivation, human deprivation, vulnerability, destitution,
and social stigmatization. The report identified a number of
basic actions to facilitate growth in the rural sector;
these include (1) a (revived) system of regular manual
maintenance of rural roads; (2) simple systems of animal
disease control; animal movement control; health inspection
of abattoirs, etc.; (3) a revival and refocus of agriculture
extension services and research, with an emphasis on
promoting diversity of production and a de-emphasis on the
mono-cropping of maize; and (4) a revisiting of the
Government's approach to the maize sector, including
whether there is still a need for Zambia to be
self-sufficient in maize, to provide inputs on arbitrarily
changing terms, or to ban exports. The report begins with a
discussion about the public sector and poverty reduction. At
the heart of Zambia's loss of economic momentum has
been the loss of effectiveness of the state administration,
which has led to a business environment not sufficiently
supportive of private investment and growth, and to poor
performance in the delivery of social and infrastructure
services essential for growth, security, and poverty
reduction. The second chapter describes the nature and
evolution of poverty in Zambia. A profile of the poor in
Zambia is presented in Chapter 3, which analyzes poverty
along three critical dimensions -poverty of private
resources, poverty of access to public goods and services,
and poverty of social relations. Chapter 4 then turns to an
examination of the economic environment. Chapter 5 examines
the links between health risk and poverty, identifies the
major risks in Zambia that affect the poor, and describes
the strategies used by households and communities to manage
these risks. Chapter 6 looks at vulnerable groups and
destitution, and finally chapter 7 explores the links
between HIVIAIDS and poverty.
