Growing need in some areas as cost of living rises

The cost of basic goods continues to rise in Zambia as agencies warn there may be pockets of desperate need not covered by previous vulnerability assessments. In its latest Zambia Situation Update, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said "the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) has been receiving alarming reports concerning the food situation in districts that were not identified by the VAC (Vulnerability Assessment Committee) in April 2003" as having been in need of food aid, or in need of close monitoring. "The districts are Sesheke in Southern Province, Kabompo and Mwinilunga in North Western Province, Kaputa in Northern Province, Chinsali and Isoka in Eastern Province, Mkushi and Kapirimphoshi in Central Province," UNDP reported. It added that following a review of available data - from NGOs, the Food, Health, Agriculture and Nutrition Information System (FHANIS), World Food Programme and other sources - the VAC has decided to assess the post-harvest situation in these districts. Meanwhile, for those who have access to food in urban markets, affording it is becoming more of a struggle. According to a survey conducted by the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR), the cost of the 'basic needs basket' for the month of August shows a steady rise in prices of staple foods. JCTR has been conducting monthly basic needs basket surveys for some years now, working out what an average family of six, living in the capital, Lusaka, would need to spend on basic commodities every month. "This is an effort aimed at giving a picture of the struggle confronting households in meeting their daily essential needs," JCTR said. In August "the total cost of food and essential non-food items was K1.014 million [about US $214]. [The total cost of] food only, that is, mealie meal (maize meal}, beans, vegetables, bread, eggs, sugar, etc., [was] K367,700 [about $80]", JCTR said. The cost of food only had gone up by K10,500 [about $2.22] from the July cost of K357,200 [about $76]. "Upward adjustments have been recorded in the cost of beans, meat, dry fish, etc. The cost of mealie meal has slightly gone up, from K27,000 in July to the current figure of K27,600," JCTR reported. "The cost of essential non-food items such as charcoal, wash (laundry) and bath soap, jelly, energy, etc., has been recorded at K646,800 [$137.10]. The cost of essential non-food items in July was recorded at K648,200 [US $137.43]. There has been a slight reduction for the month of August of K1,400, on account of a downward adjustment in the cost of charcoal. Other items such as wash soap ... have recorded some increases," JCTR said. This was why "demands by teachers for a salary of K1,500,000 are strongly justified, when one takes into account the basic essentials that a family requires for survival", Muweme Muweme, coordinator of the Social Conditions Research Project of the JCTR, said recently. The JCTR hopes the recent marginal reductions in the cost of fuel - petrol and diesel - will have some positive influence in the overall cost of living in the coming weeks.