15 Dec 2014

Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
 (BIDPA) representative, Dr Pelotshweu Moepeng has said increased scarcity of
 portable water in the south could lead to increased risk of poverty and 
vulnerability to diseases.

Speaking at 
the Non-Governmental Organization poverty eradication strategy workshop, Dr
 Moepeng said considerations to use treated waste water require the existence of
 advocacy groups that would ensure that water from such sources are in good
condition.

He further
said climate change has implications on amounts of rainfall, their timing and
 rising temperatures and that can also increase vulnerability hence the need for 
advocacy to mitigate immediate challenges that can cause extreme hardships.

Talking
about the challenges children face and risk of poverty, Dr Moepeng said high 
incidence of divorce and lack of emotional support to help children in 
transition increase risk of being poor. He said therefore it is upon NGOs to
see what they can do to address such issues.

“Also high
incidence of single headed family, low incomes increase risk of poverty and
lack of after school care support systems for children from poor households
increase risk of poverty, and as NGOs what can we do to address the issues,” he
said. 



On some challenges that old age people face, he said small household size and
lack of extended family system limits options for the aged, adding increased 
incidence of terminal diseases and lack of home based nursing care compromise 
individual human dignity. 



Dr Moepeng further said loneliness and lack of community support for old age is
a major challenge as well as social exclusion and lack of decent incomes,
adding that it was now upon the NGOs to scrutinise as to how they could help.

He said as
part of the NGOs future strategy on poverty eradication, they should contribute
more efforts to providing after school care, otherwise mothers will continue to
remain unemployed, adding churches can do more in this area.

Furthermore,
he said NGOs could contribute skills to supplement what government provides in
 public schools to improve educational needs of the poor’s children, adding thatn the 
Botswana Council of Women, Young Women’s Christian Association; and churches
could help in this area.

BOCONGO 
executive secretary, Ms Bagaisi Mabilo said she felt that it was important that
as NGO sector, they should come together and come up with their own initiative as
to what their role would be, with regards to poverty eradication.

BOCONGO, she
said was an umbrella organisation with 11 sectors, hence it was important to these 
sectors to come together and define what their niche was, in poverty
 eradication, and also see how they could contribute to poverty eradication
 programme. ENDS