Wider Says Secret Debt Intensified Poverty; Inequality Is Increasing As Better Off 'Eat' More
There were 1 million more poor people in Mozambique in 2018 than in 2015, largely due to the secret debt, according to research published by the United Nations University - Wider on 3 June.
Two other recent Wider publications, show that inequality is increasing and that Mozambique is failing to tackle child poverty in rural areas and in the north.
Mozambique's population is increasing at the rate of 3% per year, so any annual poverty reduction of less than 3% means the number and share of poor people increases.
Children Poorer Than In Neighbour Countries - And It's Getting Worse
"A significant, and striking, result of our analysis is that rural poverty incidence for children aged 0-17 is more than three times that of urban areas, and the four poorest provinces are about 50 times poorer than the richest," write Kristi Mahrt, Andrea Rossi, Vincenzo Salvucci and Finn Tarp in a paper published 23 April.
Compared to its neighbours, "Mozambique achieved the greatest reduction in urban poverty index, which once more confirms the impression of an uneven development process" and particularly excluded children in rural and central/northern regions.
