This paper outlines the extent of absolute poverty and the vulnerability of various dependent groups that are found in the population in Botswana. The paper argues that the seven-year drought, 1981-1987, increased the proportion of households that have little or no household food security. These households increasingly became dependent on state hand-outs and assistance programmes which have had the effect of reducing household and individual self-reliance. Paradoxically, the increasingly disadvantageous socioeconomic and environmental conditions that prevailed during the drought years were associated with improvement in nutrition, positive national health statistics, and the general upliftment of the welfare of many communities. This unnatural situation, however, is likely to mask rates of absolute poverty and potential future misery.
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