Jesuit Center for Theological Reflections (JCTR) says many Zambians are compromising on their living of standard as many cannot meet the required standards due to economic hardships resulting from escalating prices of food and non food items the country is facing.
JCTR social and economic programs manager Chama Mundiya said according to the recent Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket publication by JCTR, the cost of living has escalated to about K8,500 from K 7,100 for a family of five in Zambia.
She said a number of Zambians are not able to meet these needs, families are struggling especially in areas of high population density, in terms of income. Most Zambians have had their income remain flat while food and non food prices have continued to escalate.
The average household income in Zambia is bout K4,000 and people are resulting to having less number of meals which is already compromising them in terms of their nutrition.
Mundia said JCTR is advocating to government based on the finding of this living standards survey that the country needs to do more in terms of protecting the less privileged and those whose incomes fall below the basket to see how best people can enhance their income sources, creat more employment opportunities and review the minimum wage that workers earn for social protection.
“In Zambia generally, there are high poverty levels which stand at about 50% and low income which stands at an average of K4,000 per month per household according to the labor force of survey of 2019,” she said.
She said the basic needs and nutrition basket – BNNB survey is a monthly survey of prices for an ideal basket of goods and services that a family should be able to access. The focus is on a family of five based on the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZSA) average family size in Zambia based on the based on the living conditions monitoring survey of 2015.
