'Outdated' poverty datum line comes under review

Poverty datum line - the cost of a defined basket of goods and requirements enabling the most basic standard of living - is the principal instrument used by government in the targeting of funds and policies towards the poor. PDL also enables government to assess whether its policies and programmes are making any impact on poverty levels.

At the last review in 2003, 30.6 percent of the population was said to be living below the PDL, with the most vulnerable including rural areas, households headed by women, the uneducated and the disabled.