Out of 31.6 million inhabitants, 68.2 per cent live in poverty. Access to education, health and basic services is limited, especially in rural areas.
More than 21 million Mozambicans live in poverty, but the government aims to reduce it to less than 30 per cent, 13 million, by 2043, according to the National Development Strategy (ENDE), to which Lusa had access this Monday.
“With regard to social aspects, Mozambique faces significant challenges such as access to basic services, poverty, inequalities and vulnerability to shocks and crises. The poverty rate of 68.2 per cent is still high, with a large part of the population living below the poverty line,” according to the document, which defines policies and targets for the period 2024 to 2043.
In 2003, the poverty rate was 52.8 per cent in Mozambique, reduced to 51.7 per cent in 2009 and to 46.1 per cent in 2015, but increased to 68.2 per cent in 2020 and 2022, on a base of 31.6 million inhabitants (more than 21 million people), it added.
“Access to education, health and basic services is limited, especially in rural areas. Income inequality also persists as a challenge, negatively affecting social cohesion,” he pointed out.
The document sets the target of achieving a 37.8% proportion of the population living below the national poverty line by 2035, reducing to 27.9% by 2043, at the end of the programme, out of an estimated base population of 47 million people, equivalent to just over 13 million people living in poverty.
For this development, ENDE forecasts an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita from 605.9 dollars in 2022 to more than 3309 dollars in 2043, already with the return of natural gas extraction projects, currently in the start-up phase.
The document sets the objective of “significantly reducing poverty and social inequalities” in Mozambique in that period.
The National Development Strategy 2024-2043 “has the main objective of promoting sustainable, inclusive, equitable and resilient national development, driven by economic growth”.
“This purpose is achieved through various goals, such as strengthening governance and transparency, developing the country’s strategic infrastructure, developing human capital, promoting the diversification of the economy, increasing productivity and competitiveness, guaranteeing access to and the quality of basic services, promoting social inclusion and environmental sustainability,” he added.
The preparation of the ENDE “is based on the government’s priorities and the need to establish a long-term vision for the country’s development” and also “fits in with the decentralisation package underway in the country and the conjunctural and structural issues of the economy,” he said.
ENDE is also “aligned with international and regional commitments”, such as the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union (AU) 2063 Agenda, the African Charter on Human Rights, among others.
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