6. Expenditure
The vast majority of income earned is spent on food. Due to the substantial increase in maize meal prices since the food shortages began in Binga in mid-December, the staple food alone accounts for 60-70% of their expenditure. Money is spent only on maize meal, salt, soap, body lotion/ Vaseline, and rent.
Money for any visits to the hospital for consultations - at Z$120 per visit - must be used at the expense of existing expenditure. Therefore, CSWs have very little capacity to pay for healthcare in spite of being engaged in activity that places their health at serious risk.
When possible, the women try to remit some money to their parents and children in the rural areas. However in recent times this has been increasingly difficult, and they now say that it is very unusual for them to contribute at all to the upkeep of their children. This is a factor in preventing the women from returning to their home areas, and is discussed further below.
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