Energy determines the quality of our daily lives and is one of the most important drivers of human survival and economic development. Providing adequate, affordable energy is essential for eradicating poverty, improving human welfare and rising living standards worldwide.
Energy services do play a critical role in development activities that spans from heating for cooking, motive power, lighting and cooling (refrigeration). In spite of the fact that energy remains an indispensable instrument for human survival and development, access to energy and its services, however, varies dramatically between countries and regions. Around one billion people in the industrialised countries consume nearly 60 per cent of total energy supply, whereas the five billion people living in developing countries consume the remaining 40 per cent. Aproximately, 40 percent of the world population lacks access to modern energy services1.
The lack of energy services are more severe in rural areas of the developing economies where nearly 2 billion out of 3 billion people still have neither access to nor can pay for modern energy carriers, such as electricity and/or liquid or gaseous fuels. Continued research indicates that the real number of people without essential energy services may be considerably higher, especially in Africa.
In spite of the fact that there is widespread international attention on poverty, the link between poverty and energy remains practically unattended. Within the context of Namibia, there has been no feasible attempt made to look at the role of energy in terms of poverty alleviation. There is however literature available on how social service provision (such as education and health etc) can be applied to reduce poverty.
The paper would therefore attempt to assess the existing situation as regards to social service provision, to role of women and small business development in Namibia. It would further sketch the strategic requirements of the poverty –energy framework and its relevance to alleviating poverty, applying the Namibian situation whereever appropriate.
The paper is therefore organized as follows. Section 2 addresses the link between social services provision and how it impacts on poverty reduction. The section would furthermore briefly focus on the existing situation as regards to the role of women and small business development as the key to poverty reduction. Section 3 addresses the role of energy in poverty alleviation within the context of the Namibian situation. Section 4 looks at the energy-poverty framework and its applicability within the Namibian situation. This section assesses the strategies of small business development as well as the rural poor women and how such strategies can be useful from a energy sector context to reduce poverty. Section 5 ends with a concluding summary.
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