introduction bit

“Gender Dimension of Poverty: How Pervasive is Feminization of Poverty in the continent
  and what has
“Neo-Patrimonialism and the Production of Poverty in the continent.
SHANTA said Poor people are poor because markets fail them and governments fail them.  That markets fail them is well-known.  Failures in capital markets mean that young people cannot get loans to finance their education; imperfect or nonexistent insurance markets mean that poor people will not get decent health care if left to unfettered markets; economies of scale as well as the simple fact that basic services such as water are necessities mean that markets will not ensure that poor people will get the services they need to survive.

Only one percent of the money allocated to non-salary spending reached the health clinics.  These “government failures” are sometimes as pernicious as the market failures they were intended to correct.  They are also difficult to overcome because various interest groups who benefit from the status quo may resist reform.