Poverty levels down sharply in three years, new report shows

Dodoma. Poverty in Tanzania has decreased from 64 per cent in 2015 to 47.4 per cent in 2017, according to the 2017 Tanzania Human Development (THDR).

The government in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Foundation and UNDP yesterday unveiled the HDR in a ceremony officiated by the Minister for Finance and Planning.

The report, titled Social Policy in the Context of Economic Transformation, also shows extreme poverty level falling from 31.3 per cent in 2010 to 17.7 per cent 2015.

“The goal is to further reduce the level of poverty to 38.4 percent in 2020/2021 and 29.2 per cent in 2025/26,” says the report.

Speaking at the launch ceremony on behalf of the minister, Treasury Deputy Permanent Secretary, Dr Khatib Kazungu, said message from the findings in the report is that Tanzania can achieve the goals of becoming a middle-income country and poverty alleviation by 2025.

However, he said that to achieve 29.2 percent it is important that the current economic reforms go hand in hand with human development.

“This concept of integrating human development and economic reforms is not only appropriate but also in line with the Second National Development Plan of 2016/17- 2020/21, this concept of integration of human development and economic reform has been considered in our annual National Development Plans and guidelines for the preparation of national budgets,” said Dr Kazungu.

The decline in poverty has resulted from improvements in access to electricity and increase in ownership of assets like mobile phones, radio and motorcycles The Executive Director of ESRF, Dr Taida Kida, said the 2017. THDR was second in the country with a theme on social policy in the context of economic reform.

“The theme was deliberately chosen to develop ideas raised in the first Tanzania Humanitarian Development Report (THDR 2014),” she said.Dodoma. Poverty in Tanzania has decreased from 64 per cent in 2015 to 47.4 per cent in 2017, according to the 2017 Tanzania Human Development (THDR).

The government in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Foundation and UNDP yesterday unveiled the HDR in a ceremony officiated by the Minister for Finance and Planning.

The report, titled Social Policy in the Context of Economic Transformation, also shows extreme poverty level falling from 31.3 per cent in 2010 to 17.7 per cent 2015.

“The goal is to further reduce the level of poverty to 38.4 percent in 2020/2021 and 29.2 per cent in 2025/26,” says the report.

Speaking at the launch ceremony on behalf of the minister, Treasury Deputy Permanent Secretary, Dr Khatib Kazungu, said message from the findings in the report is that Tanzania can achieve the goals of becoming a middle-income country and poverty alleviation by 2025.

However, he said that to achieve 29.2 percent it is important that the current economic reforms go hand in hand with human development.

“This concept of integrating human development and economic reforms is not only appropriate but also in line with the Second National Development Plan of 2016/17- 2020/21, this concept of integration of human development and economic reform has been considered in our annual National Development Plans and guidelines for the preparation of national budgets,” said Dr Kazungu.

The decline in poverty has resulted from improvements in access to electricity and increase in ownership of assets like mobile phones, radio and motorcycles The Executive Director of ESRF, Dr Taida Kida, said the 2017. THDR was second in the country with a theme on social policy in the context of economic reform.

“The theme was deliberately chosen to develop ideas raised in the first Tanzania Humanitarian Development Report (THDR 2014),” she said.