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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Poverty and Ageing in Zimbabwe |
Author: | Madzingira, Nyasha |
Year: | 1997 |
Periodical: | Journal of Social Development in Africa (ISSN 1012-1080) |
Volume: | 12 |
Issue: | 2 |
Pages: | 5-19 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs., ills. |
Geographic terms: | Zimbabwe Southern Africa |
Subjects: | elderly poverty Health and Nutrition Economics and Trade Miscellaneous (i.e. Demography, Refugees, Sports) sociology social problems ageing social welfare |
Abstract: | The 1996 Poverty Assessment Study Survey confirmed that poverty in Zimbabwe is very high, with about 62 percent of all Zimbabweans living in households with an income per person below a level sufficient to cover basic needs. Of the 3,913 elderly persons (aged 60 years and over) included in the main sample of the study population, only 21.5 percent were non-poor. The author describes the distribution of the elderly poor in Zimbabwe by province, by rural/urban location, by other land use sectors, by gender and by marital status. Respondents saw poverty in terms of a shortage of food and clothes, lack of or poor accommodation, and poor health. Unemployment/retrenchment were perceived to be the main causes of poverty. Asked for possible solutions to alleviate poverty at household level, most respondents suggested employment creation, salary/wage increase, provision of affordable agricultural loans, financing of self-help projects and cooperatives, and provision of irrigation water. The author recommends that planners should work towards the elimination of poverty in old age by encouraging family-focused social welfare services, the promotion of community-based care, the protection of the elderly as consumers, continued employment of older persons, income security and education. Bibliogr., sum. |