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The Practice of Social Policy in Botswana

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The Copenhagen Declaration describes absolute poverty as “ a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information” (ifsw, 2012). This paper seeks to critically appraise the government of Botswana’s approach to poverty, based on the policies and programs that are intended to solve the problem of poverty in Botswana and finally identify the envisioned role of a social worker in poverty issues.
POVERTY IN BOTSWANA
It is not clear in the existing literature when did Botswana start to experience abject poverty, but comparing it to other developed countries mainly western countries; Botswana has always been poor since the …show more content…

Through the policies and programs that the government formulated since independence the results indicate that the proportion of individuals living below the poverty datum line declined from 46.1% in 1985-86 to 30.2% in 2002-2003.
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS INTENDED TO SOLVE THE ISSUE OF POVERTY IN BOTSWANA
Policies in simpler terms are plans of action designed to address social issues such as poverty. Below are policies and programmes designed by the Botswana government with the intention of solving the poverty issue.
NATIONAL DESTITUTE POLICY(2002)
From my own point of view destitute persons are those people who are living below the poverty datum line and normally they have no source of income to sustain their lives. In Botswana when we say that someone is poor, it means they do not have food, shelter, clothes, uneducated and have no job. National destitute policy (2002) defined a destitute person as: an individual who, due to disabilities or chronic health condition, is unable to engage in sustainable economic activities and has insufficient assets and income sources, possessing not more than four livestock units, earning or receiving an income of less than P120 per month without dependents or less than P150.00 per month with dependents on individual who due to old age, mental or

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