Modest social improvements but "rising inequality"

Income poverty is high, many social indicators are poor and there are large gaps between urban and rural populations, Tanzania's 2000/01 Household Budget Survey (HBS) revealed on Tuesday. The results suggest that, while measures of welfare showed modest improvements, the economy had diversified and household consumption had increased, these improvements over the last decade have been associated with "rising inequality", and the improvements have been concentrated in urban areas. However, the government rejected suggestions that the recent benefits of debt relief had not trickled down to the majority of the population, over 80 percent of whom live in rural areas. "We have been undertaking local government reform and its aim is to move the central powers to local government," Dr Abdallah Kigoda, Minister of State in the President's Office told reporters at the launch of the HBS. "If we look at the budgetary allocations which have been allocated to the social services sector, you will see notable improvements in health and education." Over the last decade, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of households headed by women - from 18 percent to 23 percent - and these households are no poorer as a result, the report finds. Figures on education revealed that a quarter of Tanzanian adults have no education, with women twice as likely as men to miss out. The survey also reports that 44 percent of Tanzanian households use an unprotected source of drinking water, such as unprotected wells and springs and surface water like rivers and lakes. Of these, only 49 percent live within a kilometre of the water supply. With regard to people's activities, the HBS found significant changes in the percentage of people involved in agriculture or fishing - down from 75 percent to 70 percent - and those in government or parastatal employment - down from 5.2 percent to 2.5 percent. The survey, conducted in over 22,000 households throughout mainland Tanzania between May 2000 and June 2001, looked at a range of individual and household characteristics. Individually, it examined people's education, economic activities and health status, while, in general, household expenditure, consumption and income were recorded. Researchers also looked at housing structure, building materials and access to services and facilities in every household. The government said on Tuesday that the survey would be an effective way of tracking the progress resulting from its poverty reduction policies.