Addressing poverty in Malta

Poverty in Malta exists. It affects mainly single parent households. Figures published by the National Statistics Office in 2003 show that, according to the Household Budgetary Survey, nearly 15 per cent of all persons living in private residences, most of whom aged up to 19 years, are below the risk-of-poverty line (Lm2,036 per annum). That's over 57,000 people.

Some other pertinent statistics relate to the number of persons living in jobless households, which totalled 44,500 in 2003 or just over 11 per cent of the population. The majority of these were women, while young girls under the age of 15 represented over 52 per cent of the total.

The number of children or adolescents, whether male or female, living in jobless households was 9,500, or some 22 per cent of the total. The region worst hit by the problem of jobless households is the harbour area of Malta, which accounted for over 37 per cent of all people in such households.

If one then looks at the number of single parent households, one finds some 3,310 such households, or 2.6 per cent of the total. Most of them (around 2,500) are single mother households. Of course, the number of people in such households is much larger.

In fact, there were some 8,120 people living in single mother households, or 3.2 persons per household.

Most of the people living in single mother households (68 per cent) are economically inactive. Only 19 per cent have a permanent job, while some seven per cent would like to work but are unemployed. The majority have to rely on social welfare, charity or support from the extended family.

It is no wonder that the percentage of people living in single mother households who are under the official risk-of-poverty line is close to 44 per cent, compared to just under 15 per cent for all households.

While we might not have people who are dying of hunger or who do not have a roof on their heads, we have thousands who are in absolute or relative poverty. The problem will not go away unless we recognise its existence and address it.

The NCW Social Issues Committee is trying to raise public awareness on this problem and is planning to organise activities that will highlight the plight of poor people in Malta and Gozo.