In December 2001, an unparalleled economic crisis unfolded, triggering high rates of unemployment and extreme poverty. Increases in informal and precarious employment, such as sub-standard jobs with low wages, reduced earnings in many households. GDP fell by 20 percent in the last four years and by nearly 11 percent in 2002 alone. Per capita income at the end of 2002 stood at an estimated US,695, down from over US,000 in the 1997/98 period. The social cost of these figures has been enormous- poverty rose to a zenith of 58 percent in 2002, with indigence levels affecting 28 percent of the population, or approximately 9 million people. As a result, access to basic public health and education services has been severely impacted, while purchasing power has decreased dramatically.