1 6 S O U T H E R N A F R I C A N D E V E L O P M E N T C O M M U N I T Y population in the region lives below the international natural and social. Among other things, lack of adequate poverty line of US$2 per day while 40 percent of the physical and financial capital is caused by unwillingness region's population or 76 million people live below the or inability to postpone consumption and lack of access to intentional poverty line of US$1 per day. Recent figures financial markets. Lack of adequate human capital may from the ADB and the World Bank show that about 80 be the result of absence of educational facilities, high percent of the population in some Member States such as opportunity cost of being in school, high cost of education Mozambique and Zambia is estimated to be living in and the impact of the brain drain. Lack of adequate extreme poverty. natural capital may be the consequence of environmental With regard to human poverty, this varies among degradation, unequal distribution of land or pressure on Member States and has shown some fluctuations in the last the land caused by growth of population or marriage decade. The levels range from the highest figure of about systems that lead to settlement in areas that are already 54.7 percent of the population affected by human poverty to overpopulated. And lack of adequate social capital may the lowest index of 11.6 percent. A few Member States such be the result of absence of relatives, neighbours, friends as Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia are worst affected as or other people with whom the poor can interact. they have a human poverty index of above the regional Apart from lack of adequate capital assets, the rates figure of 31.5 percent. About half of Member States have an of return on the physical, human and social capital of the index just slightly below the regional average. Although a poor are generally low due to low physical productivity declining trend was observed during the late 90s, human and low prices for their goods and services, which are the poverty is on the increase in some Member States. by-products of: The greatest deprivation is mainly in the area of low • assets as defined above; access to safe drinking water and child malnutrition. Almost half of Member States' indicators on these two Inefficient use and management of scarce capital • Unequal economic power between the rich and the components of human poverty are below the regional poor within their countries and between their countries average. In terms of access to safe water, the most and rich states, both of which work to the disadvantage affected countries are Angola, Mozambique, Lesotho, of the poor who have little control over the Malawi, Zambia and Swaziland. With regard to child mal- determination of the prices of their goods and services; nutrition, nearly all the afore-mentioned countries (except • Limited economic opportunities characterised by for Lesotho and Swaziland), including Tanzania and small domestic markets for goods and services and Namibia have more than 26 percent of under five children lack of avenues for productive paid-and self- affected by malnutrition. employment; and The problem of poverty as reflected in poor access to • Climate change and desertification, soil erosion and water and malnutrition has been further aggravated by the degradation, water pollution and scarcity, and drought situation that has hit the region as manifested in depletion of forests and other natural resources the current food crisis. In 2002, about 14 million people caused by inappropriate agricultural practices, urban were threatened with starvation in the region. development and growth of population. Poverty in the SADC region is particularly acute Low physical productivity is also the result of the use among various vulnerable groups such as households of unimproved technology the reasons for which headed by old people and child-headed households, that include: are now on the increase due to the impact of HIV and AIDS • pandemic. Poverty in Southern Africa is a consequence of economic, technical, environmental, social, political and Inadequate promotion of appropriate indigenous technology; • Lack of access to modern technology due to high cost exogenous factors. Low and unsustainable rates of and restrictions on the use of patented technology; economic growth in the wake of higher rates of population and growth result in low incomes. Often, the poor lack adequate capital assets – physical, financial, human, • Inability to make effective use of modern technology because of lack of knowledge and due to illiteracy.