Solomon Islands - Asia & the Pacific

Solomon Islands: Analysis of Poverty from 2005/2006 HIESnutritious, low-cost diets for Solomon Island rural and urban households originally developed by the SPC NutritionProgramme and the Solomon Island’s Ministry of Health.7. The weighted average Food Poverty Line (FPL) in 2005/06 for the country as a whole was estimated to be SBD182.87(SBD32.59 per capita adult equivalent (p.c.a.e.) per week. For a Honiara household the weekly food poverty line wasestimated to be SBD446.40 (SBD62.17 per p.c.a.e.) per week. For provincial urban households the correspondingfood poverty line was SBD249.04 (equivalent to SBD42.33 p.c.a.e.) per week and for rural households SBD156.17(SBD27.48 p.c.a.e.) per week.8. The Basic Needs Poverty Line (BNPL), which includes an allowance for essential non-food expenditure has beenestimated as a national average expenditure of SBD265.77 per household (SBD47.37 p.c.a.e.) per week, andSBD998.32 per week for a Honiara household (SBD139.04 p.c.a.e. per week). For provincial urban households thecorresponding basic needs poverty line was SBD465.41 (equivalent to SBD79.11 p.c.a.e.) per week and for ruralhouseholds SBD225.02 (SBD39.59 p.c.a.e.) per week. The amounts spent by households on non-food essentialsvaries widely between the regions. In Honiara households spent 24% more on non-food items each week as theydid on food. In the rural areas in contrast food was the most important item in the budget (accounting for almosttwo-thirds of expenditure) with non-food basic needs expenditure amounting to only 44% of food expenditure.Thus, basic needs costs vary widely depending on household circumstances and are much higher in urban thanin rural areas. The weekly per capita adult equivalent poverty lines are summarised in table ES1.Table ES1Weekly Adult Equivalent Per Capita Poverty LinesSBD per capita adultequivalent per weekFood PovertyLineNon-FoodBasic NeedsFactor (% 0ffood)EstimatedNon-FoodExpenditureBasic NeedsPoverty LineWeeklycost per HHlowest threedeciles a.eA B C D = A+CAverage all Households 32.59 0.45 14.78 47.37Lowest Quintile 62.17 1.24 76.87 139.04Lowest Three Deciles 42.33 0.87 36.78 79.11Highest Quintile 27.48 0.44 12.11 39.59265.77998.32465.41225.02Incidence of Poverty9. The Incidence of Poverty has been estimated by calculating: a) the proportion of households, and b) the proportionof population which reported weekly per capita adult equivalent (p.c.a.e) expenditure less than the relevant foodor basic needs poverty lines, see Table ES2 and Section 5.10. The average incidence of basic needs poverty, as measured by the Head Count Index (HCI) over all households,is estimated at 18.8%, accounting for 22.7% of the population. Within this national average, Honiara householdsrecorded a poverty incidence of 24.6% whilst that for provincial urban households was 11.2%. In terms ofpopulation, the incidence of basic needs poverty is estimated to have affected 32.2% of the Honiara populationand 13.6% of the provincial urban population. For the rural areas the rate of basic needs poverty was equivalent to15.2% of households and 18.8% of the population.11. Based on the population projected from the HIES, these estimates of poverty incidence therefore suggest that22,220 people in Honiara were unable to afford a basic minimum standard of living. In the rural areas the number soEstimation of National Poverty Lines and Poverty Incidence