Despite riches among southern African countries, there are growing social and economic inequalities between rich and poor.These growing inequalities, including income inequality,have made it difficult for many people to afford basic needs such as healthcare, education and adequate food. Challenges facing civil society organisations (CSOs) working in southern African countries is finding a consistent and reliable measure of the cost of living in the region.The Basic Needs Basket (BNB) survey provides a reliable, consistent and simplified method to measure the cost of basic needs in a country. The BNB survey is one approach that civil society is using to measure the extent of poverty (urban and/or rural poverty that is town specific) in order to highlight the rise in cost of living in order to inform policy formulation targeting the marginalised and the poor. The methodology is currently employed by the Centre for Social Concern (CFSC) in Malawi, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) in Zambia, and the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII)in South Africa.

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