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Below is a list of recent Research Articles published by the Information, Research and Media Unit (IRMU) of the parliament. The IRMU consists of a number departments as listed below.

Human Development Department - Thursday, 10 March 2005

Parliament of Fiji

Library, Research, Information & Advisory Service

FACT SHEET

THE FIJI POVERTY REPORT

Prepared by:

Jyoti Maharaj

Principal Research Officer Sustainable, Humand Development

Vol. 1 No. 4

(1 July 1997)

THE FIJI POVERTY REPORT:

This study was undertaken by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Fiji Government and involved many sectors of society.

The Purpose of the Report:

The report analyses information that is currently available about the extent and nature of poverty in Fiji. Its purpose is to understand the nature, causes, consequences and extent of poverty. This will strengthen the basis on which to formulate and evaluate policies and programmes to reduce the incidence of poverty and ensure that assistance meets the needs of the vulnerable and the most disadvantaged. It also aims to stimulate discussion about the types of action that are needed to reduce poverty; contribute to policy dialogue and implementation across a broad spectrum of activities.

Definitions of Poverty:

Absolute Poverty refers to where people lack the basis of life such as food and shelter.

Relative Poverty refers to where one group in the population has a much smaller share of income than others.

Significant Findings/Results

Income is unevenly distributed between different parts of Fiji and between the rural and urban areas. The pattern of income inequality is foremost a reflection of the uneven distribution of economic activity in certain parts of the country; Fijis dual economy, one part of which is predominantly agricultural and subsistence-oriented, the other predominated by urban-based business and paid employment and the fact that different levels in society have access to different sources of income.

The poverty line marks the point below which people can be said to be living in poverty. Based on basic living costs, the national poverty line in the 1990-91 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) for a households of five people was estimated to be $83.00 a week. The poverty line was higher in urban areas, at $100.08. It is estimated that approximately 25% of households live in relative poverty. Comparison of the 1977 and 1990-91 poverty lines and the respective income distributions points to a growing number of people living in poverty, as reflected in Tables1, 2, & 3 (See page 4).

Trends

There has been growing inequality since the late 1970s. While the Fiji economy grew approximately 25% between 1997 and 1990-91, the proportion of the Fiji population living in poverty grew by almost two thirds. There is widening income gap within both urban and rural areas.

Poverty is not concentrated in any particular sector, but is across all communities. Over and above economic hardship, poverty entails a variety of individual, family and community problems: isolation, a sense of social inferiority, frustration, lack of opportunity, physical weakness, vulnerability and humiliation. These are people who, for various reasons, cannot rely on their extended family or community for long-term support.

Characteristics of low-income households as demonstrated by (HIES):

The heads of poor households are often married, male and employed, yet unable to sufficiently support their families because they work in occupations that do not pay a living wage for a sole-income earner with family responsibility.

They are small, isolated and usually have only one or no adult income-earner. The safety nets available to many low-income people do not fully bridge the gap between an adequate lifestyle and poverty.

Most heads of low-income earner households are engaged in mainstream economic activity. Most work as farmers or blue-collar workers, however, some work in jobs less commonly associated with poverty, such as the retail trade and clerical work. At least half are the sole income earner for their families.

Women and Poverty

There is a high proportion of female-headed households, particularly in the urban areas, where they account for one in every five poor households. The concentration of women household heads in specific low-paying jobs is more marked than for men. Of the women household heads working in urban areas, two types of jobs predominate housemaids and sewing accounted for 50% of their employment and three others typists, clerical workers and machinist for 15% more. These low wages are commonly accompanied by insecure and poor working conditions. 

Two broad categories of the poor: those who enter into poverty at some stage of their lives, and those who are poor throughout their lives. In analyzing the circumstances by which households become abruptly or slowly impoverished, two themes dominate:

(a)  The first is the inherent insecurity of many households and the inadequacy  of existing safety nets.

(b)  The second is that the immediate causes of these misfortunes are becoming more common-place. These include illness or disability of a family member, particularly an adult; marriage break up or single motherhood, and the inability of a custodial parent to collect maintenance payments from their ex-partner ; and old age.

Characteristics of households in long term poverty are their  insecure means of livelihood, their limited skills which place them at the bottom of the job market; their restricted access to land and sea resources, and the additional economic and social barriers that women-headed households face. There is no clear cut-off point between the poor and the not so poor in these respects, but rather a range of relative disadvantage.

Children and Poverty Although there is a high rate of primary school enrolment, at least 30% of children do not complete primary school or proceed to secondary school. Financial pressures are a principal factor in the school drop-out rate. Another link with poverty is that many children are compelled to leave school because they fail in national examinations in which children from resource-poor school and poor communities generally score lowest. Among adults, there is a demonstrable link between low education, insecure employment status and low incomes.

Safety Nets In the absence of a welfare state, there are four types of safety nets which currently assist the poor: family supports systems, financial institutions, Government welfare services and NGO service. Of these, NGOs provide a large share of materials and other assistance to the poor and to other people with special needs. They are seen foremost as welfare organizations, but many give greater emphasis to empowerment and the provision of skills and knowledge for self-sufficiency.

Conclusions:

This report confirms past findings of poverty in Fiji:

(a)  that Fiji is a society with deep inequalities;

(b)  that although there is little absolute poverty, a sizable proportion of households in Fiji have difficulty meeting their basic needs for food and shelter, and many cannot do so adequately; and

(c)  that tradition, community and family networks now fail to support some of the poorest and most disadvantaged.

The Fiji Government in the 1990s, has given a renewed emphasis to poverty eradication and has new programmes/projects (with UNDP assistance)           in place to assist the poor and disadvantaged. Some of these programmes/projects include:

(a)  Micro-Credit Schemes for squatters in Ba;

(b)  Assistance to drought-Risk Villages (Ministry of Regional Development);

(c)  Research into School Drops-outs (Save the Children Fund); and

(d)  Assistance to Monfort Technical Institute (Savusavu)

There is a growing realisation that NGOs are effective development partners of the Government; wit Government providing the necessary funding and the NGOs providing the requisite services to disadvantaged people.

A three-pronged strategy for poverty eradication in Fiji would involve improving the productive capacity of the people; improving access to and the performance of social services; and increasing the capacity of community groups to work and assist the poor.

[Source: Fiji Poverty Report, UNDP, 1997]