Swaziland : Reducing Poverty Through Shared Growth

The people of Swaziland are its greatest
resource. Yet, social and economic indicators of household
welfare converge to confirm fundamental inequalities in
access to incomes and assets, and the existence of
significant poverty and deprivation. Furthermore, as the
regional economic and social climate is transformed, the
fragile gains of the past are being fast eroded. At this
historic juncture, the Swazi poor need to come to the fore
of the public policy framework. There is an urgent need to
catalyze a new pattern of pro-poor development in Swaziland
where the poor participate and share fully in growth, human
development, and social protection. The report calls for
prioritizing the following actions: 1) enabling the growth
of smallholder agriculture, 2) ensuring effective human
development investments, 3) insuring the poor against major
risks, and 4) strengthening institutions to increase the
poverty impact of policies. The achievement of all these
will require fundamental change across sectors and
leadership to carry forward the change.