A Glimpse of Poverty and Nutritional Status and their Impact on The Namibian Child

Abstract

This paper will examine the effect of poverty on the nutritional state of the Namibian child. Namibia is a country with a population of 2.3 million people which is growing at a rate of 2.6 percent per annum [1] (NSA, 2016). The country gained independence in 1990 after nearly a century of German and South African rule and is classified a lower middle-income country [2] (UNDP, 2018). Two documents are catalytic in providing a general view of Namibia's nutritional status; the Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Namibia and Food and Nutrition Policy for Namibia and The Nutrition Country Profile, a research conducted by Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). In Namibia, there is a widespread of undernutrition among children less than five years of age, a chronic rate of unemployment standing at 28.7 and 15.3 percent in the years respectively. This is 40.5 and 43.6 percentage points fewer than in 1993/1994. The poverty gap which measures the consumption shortfall relative to the poverty line was estimated at 8.8 percent in 2009/2010 and indicates that on average Namibia has a poverty gap equal to 8.8 percent of the poverty line [3] (NSA, 2012, p 12).