Namibia is classified as a lower middle-income country with an average per capita income of around U S $1,800 per annum. However, the country which ranks 126 of 177 countries on the Human Development Indexstill bears the consequences of the social and economic inequalities inherited from the apartheid system of colonial South Africa, and inequality in the distribution of income and assets is among the highest in the world.
The Government bases its economic and social policies on the long-term national Vision, within which Namibia aspires to become an industrialized and developed nation by 2030. Since Independence in 1990 a series of National Development Plans, have sought to: revive and sustain economic growth; reduce inequality; create employment; eradicate poverty; promote gender equality and equity; reduce regional inequalities; ensure environmental sustainability, and; combat HIV/AIDS.
Economic growth remains subdued but macro-economic policiesremain cautious in light of Namibia ’s vulnerability to external factors such as exchange rate volatility, adverse weather patterns, expected reductions in customs revenues, as well as increasing levels of public debt. According to the national MDG report, Namibia has made great progress in the provision of health, education and other critical services. However, Namibia still faces a ‘triple threat’ in responding to the combination of the devastating HIV/AID S pandemic, high levels of food insecurity and income poverty at household level, and weakening capacities for governance and delivery of social services.
Agricultural productivity in Namibia is generally low, due to the country’s arid climate, as well as poor and easily degradable soils. Periodic natural disasters further exacerbate difficult environmental conditions, and cause disruptions to food production. Food insecurity is compounded by high levels of income poverty; an estimated 38% of the population live below the national poverty line. Income poverty is driven by high unemployment, insufficient economic growth and high levels of income inequality. The HIV/AID S pandemic contributes to income poverty by reducing the productivity of individuals due to illness and death, and by forcing households to draw on savings to cover medical and other expenses.
Between 1992-2002, HIV infections among pregnant women attending ante-natal clinics have increased from 4% to 22%, while 2004 resultsshow a prevalence rate of 20%. According to the 2001 Census, average life expectancy between 1991 and 2001 has fallen from 59 to 48 years for men and from 63 to 50 years for women. It is estimated that there are around 100,000 orphans in Namibia. The immediate causes of high HIV prevalence are poverty and unemployment, high rates of unprotected sex with an infected person and mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The pandemic is rooted in negative cultural perceptions, compounded by violence against women and young girls, alcohol abuse, high mobility especially of males in search of employment, and stigma against people living with HIV/AID S .
The HIV/AID S pandemic is weakening the capacities of individuals, households and communities, as well as businesses, organisations and government to deliver essential services in health care, education and basic amenities, because of increased morbidity and mortality. This erosion in capacities across society weakens human, financial and institutional safety nets and leaves the country less able to respond to natural disasters and manage the development process, at a time when the country faces its greatest development challenge, in the form of the HIV/AID S pandemic.