Botswana

TO ITS POORER NEIGHBORS, the southern African nation of Botswana stands out because it has transformed itself from one of the world's poorest nations into a middle-income country with an economy that has one of the healthiest growth rates in the world.

Children in sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of poverty and to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Gains have been particularly significant in the diamond export and tourist sectors. Nevertheless, Botswana suffers from many of the same social crises that plague other African nations. Nearly half (47 percent) of Botswana's people fall below the national poverty line. Subsistence farming continues to flourish, and the government faces high unemployment (unofficially estimated at 40 percent), low life expectancy, and unacceptably high rates of infant mortality, malnutrition, and HIV/AIDS.

Inequality is persistent, with the poorest 20 percent of Botswana receiving only 2.2 percent of income while the richest 20 percent receive 70.3 percent. Some 23.5 percent of the population live on less than one dollar a day, and over half live on less than two dollars a day. At least 40 percent of the Botswana population have no access to improved sanitation, and five percent lack access to a stable improved water source. With low population and growth rates, Botswana's median age is 19.29 years. Almost 40 percent of Botswana are under the age of 14, and less than four percent are over the age of 65. Botswana's life expectancy is 33.87 years, and the people have a 61.9 percent chance of not surviving past the age of 40.

Children in Botswana are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of poverty and to the HIV/AIDS epidemic: the outlook has grown worse since 1990 when the infant mortality rate was 45 deaths for every 1,000 live births. By 2000, that number had risen to 80 deaths per 1,000 live births. During that same period, the mortality rate for all children under 5 years of age increased from 58 to 110. Some 12.5 percent of the country's [Page 86]children are malnourished, and 10 percent of all infants suffer from low birth weight. In the general population, almost one-fourth of the population is undernourished.

In response to global emphasis on childhood immunizations, by 2003, 90 percent of Botswana children between the ages of 12 and 23 months had been immunized for measles and 97 percent had received DPT3 immunizations. Immunizations for infants improved significantly between 1990 and 2002: DPT immunizations increased from 56 to 97 percent; polio immunizations increased from 78 to 97 percent; measles immunizations increased from 55 to 90 percent; and tuberculosis immunizations rose by seven percent.

On the average, Botswana children complete 11 years of schooling. Among females, 96 percent complete primary school, but only 91 percent of Botswana males do so. Over half (53.6 percent) of Botswana's children attend secondary school. The literacy rate for Botswana females is 82.4 percent, compared with 76.9 percent for males. From 1990 to 2001, illiteracy rates for individuals aged 15 to 24 dropped from 16.7 to 11.3.

Women are disproportionately poor in Botswana, particularly single mothers. While 48 percent of Botswana women between the ages of 15 and 49 employ some method of contraception, the fertility rate is 3.7 births per female according to the World Bank. This is due in large part to the 66 percent fertility rate for women aged 15 to 19. Overall, fertility rates have begun to decline in response to dissemination of birth control information and higher female educational levels. Maternal health has improved in recent years, and professional health staff attend 98.5 percent of all births.

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