Assessing The Effects Of Social Safety Nets On Poverty In Namibia: Analysis Of Food Expenditure Of Elderly Persons

ABSTRACT

Poverty amongst elderly persons is a phenomenon experienced worldwide, Namibia included. The government of Namibia has come up with various social safety nets programmes which include old age pension, disability grant and child maintenance grant to alleviate poverty. Although these interventions were introduced to reduce poverty among the targeted groups, statistics reveal that poverty still exists amongst those receiving old age pension. The aim of the study was to examine factors influencing poverty (food poverty, obtained using the food poverty line) among elderly headed households in the country using statistical modelling, namely quantile regression. Descriptive and regression was explored (used) to obtain the required results using the 2003/4 and 2009/10 Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES).