Publication: Swaziland : Using Public Transfers to Reduce Extreme Poverty
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2012-11
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2014-07-22
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Swaziland has a number of social transfer programs, but these are not well coordinated and there is a need to better define the overall priorities of the overall safety net. Swaziland spends a significant amount on safety nets but there is room to increase the efficiency of spending by: (i) improving coordination between programs; (ii) making adjustments to program design and implementation; and (iii) removing some inefficient programs. Social transfers could play a larger role in reducing poverty but there are gaps in how well the safety net supports extremely poor households with children and/or unemployed household members. The assessment recommends that Swaziland should consider adopting a national child grant program and a public works program to fill these gaps.
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“Blank, Lorraine; Mistiaen, Emma; Braithwaite, Jeanine. 2012. Swaziland : Using Public Transfers to Reduce Extreme Poverty. Social protection and labor discussion paper;no. 1411. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19006 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Swaziland - Using Public Transfers to Reduce Extreme Poverty(Washington, DC, 2012-11)The report focuses on the social safety net, particularly cash and in-kind transfers. The safety net can play an important role in addressing poverty and vulnerability; however, the process by which the safety nets have been developed in Swaziland has produced a fragmented system that leaves many Swazis unprotected by the safety net. Improvements in efficiency and effectiveness are both necessary and possible. Poverty and extreme poverty in Swaziland are both overwhelmingly rural phenomena. The incidence of poverty is 73 percent in rural areas but only 31 percent in urban areas. Eighty-eight percent of the poor and 95 percent of the extreme poor live in rural areas, and the average consumption of the urban poor is 33 percent below the poverty line while it is 51 percent below the poverty line among the rural poor. Also, poverty is deeper in rural areas than it is in urban areas. 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