The Eradication of Poverty Rationale Sustainable livelihoods refer to the capability of people to make a living and improve their quality of life without jeopardising the options of others - both now and in the future. The urban and rural poor and the elimination of poverty will be the major thrust of this focus area, the aim of which is to investigate ways of making human settlements healthier and more habitable, equitable, sustainable and productive, and to improve the quality of life of the people within them. The experience of most South African households is one of outright poverty or of continuing vulnerability to being poor. Furthermore, the distribution of income and wealth is extremely unequal, and many households have limited access to education, health care, energy and clean water.
Poverty is compounded by issues of race, class, gender and locality.
In South Africa, the situation has been exacerbated by the unequal distribution of the means of production and by inappropriate production and investment decisions over the years by government and rural populations. However, the risk of becoming and remaining poor remains significantly higher in rural areas. Poverty in rural areas is a worldwide phenomenon and is usually a result of the depletion of assets upon which people rely as sources of livelihoods. Rural women are a particularly vulnerable group, which raises issues around gender and poverty, equity and non-discriminatory policies and practices. Insufficient infrastructure and services, lack of environmentally sound technology, pollution resulting from the adverse impacts of unsustainable industrialisation and urbanisation contribute to the degradation of the rural environment.