AFSUN Policy Brief: Manzini

In Swaziland urban food insecurity has become a major
development problem in recent years due to rapid
urbanization, rising poverty and high HIV and AIDS infection
levels. Swaziland has a population of a million that is 25%
urban and is growing rapidly. Data from the last two
censuses (1997; 2007) conclusively show that the majority of
female-headed households are the poorest. The urban
population of Manzini is just over 59,000 and the city is
facing the challenge of mushrooming informal settlements.
Three low income suburban areas (Moneni, Ticancweni and
Standini) of the city were surveyed in December, 2008. The
average size of people per household was 4.2 and the largest
household recorded 20 people.