MOZAMBIQUE: Despite economic growth, poverty remains

Mozambique has managed to post impressive economic growth figures in recent years, but development gains are only
slowly reaching ordinary people as the country recovers from decades of civil war, analysts say.

Gross Domestic Product grew by over 10 percent last year. The inflation rate was only one percent. But unemployment remains high and the government acknowledges that two-thirds of the 16.5 million population still live below the poverty line.

Poverty levels are reflected in basic socio-economic statistics. In rural areas only eight percent of the population has access to portable water.

According to a 1997 government survey, the national infant mortality rate was estimated at 134 per 1,000 live births. The maternal mortality rate was 1,500 for every 100,000 births, compared to much of Europe where the level is 25 per 100,000 births.

"Infant child mortality remains at the same level as during the war," Dr Carla Santos of WHO's Family Health Programme told IRIN. "The background problem is poverty. It is not enough that there is economic growth, it is still not translated into the social conditions of the people."

Mozambique remains one of the world's poorest countries. During the civil war, Renamo rebels devastated infrastructure in the countryside including clinics and schools. They are slowly being rebuilt, but trained staff must also be found, Santos said.

Along with the structural problems the government is struggling to address, such as improving access to clean water and sanitation and literacy programmes - particularly targeting women - increased coverage of quality healthcare is also urgently required. "This must be, and is, one of the priorities of the government," Santos added.