More people could slide into poverty
The World Bank has warned that the number of people living below the international poverty line of $2.15 (about K2 280) per day in Malawi could increase if the country continues to face climate or external shocks.
In its recent Malawi Poverty and Equity Brief, the Bretton Woods institution said the poverty projection based on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth between 2019 and 2023 shows that the number of people living on less than $2.15 per day increased from 70.1 percent to 72 percent due to, among others, the recurrent climate shocks affecting the agricultural sector.
The bank said this is despite the country’s inequality having decreased over the last decade, mainly due to better-off households worsening their economic situation.
In a written response yesterday, National Planning Commission public relations and communications manager Thom Khanje said regardless of the shocks, Malawi could still achieve its 2030 targets of graduating to a middle-income economy and achieving most of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He said: “Shocks, climate or otherwise, will continue to hit us as a country, just like other nations around the world.
“But that shouldn’t stop us from achieving our development targets.”
In the Malawi First 10-Year Implementation, Plan for Malawi 2063 development strategy targets to graduate into a middle-income economy and achieve most of the SDG targets and grow the economy by at least six percent.
The targets are expected to be attained through investments and key policy interventions in mega farms, mining and tourism coupled with urgent restoration of generation capacity in electricity and macro-economic stability.
Speaking separately, economist Bond Mtembezeka observed that shocks will always be there, but what is key is whether the economy is built to withstand them.
“What is needed is to re-engineer the structure of the economy to make sure it is able to withstand the shocks,” he said.
Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences associate professor of economics Betchani Tchereni said Malawi has the potential to produce even more agricultural output in the face of climate change.
“With or without climate change, dependence on rain-fed agriculture must be a thing of the past,” he said.
World Bank data shows that Malawi is the fourth poorest country in the world, with 70 percent of its population living on less than $2.15 a day following the revision of the international poverty datum line.
