Mitigation of Poverty Disaster: Towards Sustainable Economic Development - Essay Example

Mitigation of ‘Poverty Disaster’: Towards Sustainable Economic Development Introduction Throughout human life, the inevitability of disasters cannot be disputed. The environmental changes that have arisen over time probably from mismanagement and irresponsible activities within the global surroundings have in most cases plunged the earth into a serious economic crisis. As a result, ‘perennial poverty’ has become a part and parcel of most communities especially those that are seasonally struck by these disasters. With the awareness of the perpetual incidences of these natural hazards, the world has responded in different fashions with different groups: local and global governmental and non-governmental organisations coming into place to help assist the victims as well as mitigate the occurrence of a similar disaster (Maxwell, Parker and Stobaugh, 2013: 71). ‘Hurricanes, volcanic activities, floods, famine among others are not any strange natural hazards that have had gross impacts on the lives of the victims. Poverty has become the long term consequential impact Until today, ‘poverty disaster’ has grounded itself to challenge the economic stability of the world today especially in regions around the sub-Saharan region, Middle East and other areas which are susceptible to various diseases, low embracement of modernity, ineffective leadership, lack of enlightenment among others. Poverty is a real disaster that has prompted the international bodies and financial aid institutions to rethink their strategies for approaching this menace. Poverty disaster can be mitigated using effective emergency planning to achieve a sustainable economic development. Poverty Defined as a Disaster According to Brainard, Jones and Purvis (2009: 110), poverty is a severe calamity that has a great embedment on the natural. Just the same way a flood would sweep away properties and claim casualties so does poverty. Poverty leaves the community affected non-functional and incapacitated such that they can hardly participate in any socio-economic activity that could build them. Poverty kills the same way any other hazard/disaster would and this attribute makes it be regarded as threat. The fact that the poor are restricted from accessing basic facilities and services makes poverty be a chancy peril that be worse that other disasters. Collins (2009: 78) describes poverty as a long term nuisance that when it strikes it becomes extremely hard to alleviate; a feature that has made it to be an elusive challenge that the world is still struggling to neutralise. Connection between Natural Calamities and Poverty The link between poverty and natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods cannot be disentangled if a holistic view on this matter is to be achieved. One way in which poverty relates to natural hazards is that one causes the other. When disasters such as prolonged drought or floods smash an area, it is undoubted that the arena of agriculture will be the first sector to shaken. This will, thus, result into inadequacy of food thereby leading to poverty. It is almost impossible to find facilities such as health centres, water and electricity among others. Natural disasters are identifiable major contributors of poverty and the two intertwine so closely (Hughes, 2009: 66). On the other hand, it can sensibly be argued that poverty also causes these natural hazards. In areas in which communities flounder in abject poverty, environmental management has been a thing of the past as people engage in desperate and irresponsible activities such as deforestation so as to source their livelihood. During the periods of these natural disasters, individuals usually shift to very destructive acts as a way of coping mechanism so as to sustain their livelihood and in so doing; they add more miseries to themselves. In the process, the wheel of poverty continue to roll over them (Brainard, Jones and Purvis, 2009: 157). This thwarts the regions’ moves toward a sustainable developments and poverty becomes seasonal disaster. Densely occupied regions feel the greatest impact of both natural disasters and poverty as the rate of environmental degradation in such places is extremely on the increase. It is worst with trend as the predicted increase in the world’s population will hamper extensively the extermination of this menace. A lot, therefore, has to be done to curtail poverty disaster before it erupts to haunt the world (Maxwell, Parker and Stobaugh, 2013: 74) In a nutshell, disasters (especially the natural ones) are the chief causes of poverty. Once they raid an area food security becomes a huge problem. It is approximated that over eighty percent of world’s hunger is caused by the natural hazards such as drought. In these countries, a major source of income and the only way to sustain livelihood is through agriculture. Once the sector is affected, the majority of the population finds themselves in the other economic lane that is characterised by hunger and starvation. Population increase and continued environmental dilapidation are some of the main factors that exacerbate the situation in these regions as far as food security is concerned. There is a direct relationship between the above factors and natural hazards. Statistics and Facts on World Poverty According to the World Bank statistics, close to half of the human population survive on less than $2-3 daily. Approximately above one billion young ones are surviving in deep poverty in the world of which about twenty-two thousand succumb to poverty each day. The rate at which children die is extremely high in the sub-Saharan Africa. Over seven hundred million people cannot get access to clean drinking water; a basic need that should be at the dispensation of all. Shockingly, about twenty-five percent of the population do not have access to electricity supply rendering them technologically-incapacitated. In overall, only about a fifth of the world population can sustain the ten dollar a day life. The unindustrialied countries are positioned at high risk of falling for poverty disaster. Women and children are more likely to fall victims of this menace than adult men (Pielke and Roger, 2013: 101). Mitigation of Poverty Disaster It is worth noting that poverty alleviation and poverty disaster risk management are all centred at defusing the antecedents disasters set way for it such as flood, famine and others. The foundational starting point of poverty risk control is primarily grounded in the mechanisms and structures put in place to curb the aforementioned natural disasters that have evidentially been found to be significant contributors to poverty. Every year, it is reported that certain regions in the world require immediate food aid as they have been struck by poverty disaster. The disaster of poverty has deep roots into history. For a long time, organisations such as United Nations, World Food Program, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organisation and both the governmental and non-governmental agencies have constantly responded positively to the pleas of the hungry in the affected areas through food aids. The question that is therefore posed is that what policies and strategies have been put in place to reduce the vulnerability of these people to poverty so that they can achieve a sustainable economic development (Morris, 2009: 88). Are there long term risk management plans that can be formulated that can see these identified victims through to generation where poverty disaster becomes non-existent? How can they be best instigated so as to achieve real result? There is so much that has been done and a lot more to be improved on in regard to this disaster. Theories of Disaster The manner in which disaster are construed and conceptualised significantly influences what response plans are set is a bid to exterminate them. For example, the understanding of cause sand effects of a particular disaster is more likely to streamline the policy makers in going about that disaster. There are four basic theories that explain disaster. Disaster as an ‘Act of Fate’ Theory This perspective looks at disaster as an occurrence that is sourced from fate. For example, the theorists associated with this position will attribute a disaster to doom. With this mindset, any disasters such as poverty will receive little or no preparation as fate is regarded as uncontrollable. Victims are most likely to be blamed for acting in ways that disgraced fate (Grebmer, 2008: 54). The people will most likely engage in practices that can predispose them to good luck. Very few prudent initiatives will be formed to counteract the situation. In such cases, poverty will strike season in, season out but no move is made to curb it. Disaster as an ‘Act of Nature’ Theory In this view, a disaster is regarded to emanate from nature and programs and strategies meant to curb it are directed towards enhancing nature. This perspective is particularly relevant in explaining poverty as it has been evidentially proven it is interlinked with natural disasters. It is therefore practical to claim that at least some disasters are caused by nature and a change in nature can have direct influence in such disasters. For example, if poverty is caused by natural disasters such as drought, then it is easy to eradicate poverty if nature is improved through environmental management among others. Planners in this perspective put more focus on approaching disaster from ‘nature perspective in which they formulate policies and strategies that can enrich the environment. In so doing, agriculture (which most poor people depend on) is improved leading to high food supply. Disaster as a ‘Combined Impact of Nature and Society’ Theory This theory posits that disaster is a result of the interplay of nature and the societal activities. This means that poverty as a disaster has an equal contribution from both the natural environment and man’s activities. The contributions of human social activities to their miseries including poverty are further reinforced by nature. For example, bad governance that is insensitive to the citizens’ need combined with drought can directly disgrace the people with abject poverty. Corruption, inequality, discrimination, robbery among others are some of the social vices that when combined with disasters like flood or drought can completely paralyze a community’s economy leading to poverty (Birkland, 2006: 97). Social Construction Theory Diversely, this theory solely attributes disasters to the social creations. It holds dearly the view that everything that occurs in the society in form of a disaster is based on the social occurrences and activities in the society and has no natural causes (Hartman and Squires, 2006: 133). In this regard, poverty is developed from the ill social behaviour and practices rather than the natural sources. It recommends therefore that to go about these disasters, humans must take an initiative to re-approach them in more artificial forms. Policy makers here respond to the disasters in ways that focus on the human practices (Phillips, 2010: 112). Strategies and Plans to Alleviate Poverty Disaster Poverty disaster risk management and preparedness are the baseline of sustainable economic development. It is with this insight that food aid organisations as well as development-oriented agencies have sought to formulate various ways in which food disaster can be approached and dealt with in order to achieve long-term goals in areas that have been identified to be susceptible to these attacks. It is understood by aid respondents that the quicker and urgent the reactions, the more people will be saved. It is for this reason that emergency response schemes have been set to look into this (Hughes, 2009: 109). Emergency Relief Aid According to Hughes (2009: 111), one program that cannot miss in any strategy that organisations and institutions have formulated in order to assist a community or region that has been hit by poverty disaster is emergency food aid. Whenever this tragedy strikes, the most immediate and short term response usually become food aid. Lack of water and adequate food supply characterises poverty disaster. Lack of both causes death and the only way to evade such casualties is to provide food, shelter and water immediately. Organisations such as the Red Cross, USAID, United Nations (UN) as well as World Food Program (WFP) have proactively responded to these calls by reaching out to the disgraced and the deprived persons who faces challenges of food every year (Phillips, 2010: 144). The USAID has as well earned positive reputation in its philanthropic emergency response to the victims of natural calamities that leave families and communities poor without food or water. USAID responds to this disaster using two tools; either its own food that is bought from the United States meant specifically for aid or those that are purchased in other countries. The “ US In-kind food’’ are especially designed to be delivered to regions that probably cannot get access to the market and issues like violence further makes it impossible to walk around. In those areas where the helpers can buy food from the local areas, purchase is mad in the native countries as this helps get diets that the victims are used to. In some cases, food vouchers are usually issued to the victims in circumstances where the victims’ markets have enough food but they (victims) do not have the resources to buy them. In such cases, the USAID provides the victims with cash or food vouchers that they use to purchase the foods they need for their survival (Collins, 2009: 154). Consequently, the World Food Program’s (WFP) commitment to assisting those who have been tormented by natural disasters cannot go unnoticed. In 2013, the organisation aided more than nine million people who were left poor and hungry having been hit by storms. Another thirty million persons assisted were poor due to a great drought had attacked them incapacitating them agriculturally. Moreover, slightly below thirty million were similarly affected had their habits floods such that they could not sustain their means of livelihoods. About seven million persons in the same year were assisted having been victims of serious earthquakes that paralyzed them both physically and economically. These figures show how much emergency food response has significantly transformed the lives of many persons who have remained poor due to natural disasters (Pielke and Roger, 2013: 105). ‘R4 Rural Resilience Initiative’ This is as significant program that has been developed by various stakeholders with an objective of enabling the vulnerable persons in areas that seasonally experience natural hazards such as drought to develop resilience in a way that they can adapt and live with the conditions. The initiative, which has been embraced by the World Food Program and other bodies, has extensively empowered the rural dwellers into navigating ways of ensuring stable food supply despite the unfavourable climatic conditions. This was an emergency response that was meant to counter the next food disaster at the time of formation but it has grown to be a viable solution that has been deployed in many nations in the world that experience the same challenges. It was first piloted on in two African countries but later on adopted by various other countries (Grebmer, 2008: 119). Branded as ‘R4’, the initiative is driven by the operational framework of four management approaches which include ‘risk reduction, risk transfer, risk reserves and risk taking’. Risk reduction is particularly meant to empower the locals into minimise the possibilities of succumbing to the hazards by amassing resources such as money that can help purchase food in case of a disaster. Risk transfer provides for avenues in which the probable victims can insure ‘themselves’(including properties) so that in case the disaster strikes the ‘problems’ are shoved to another multilateral party that can absorb them. Similarly, risk taking and reserves involves variation of economic practice and accretion of wealth respectively. All these have been able to enable farmers and any other persons involved absorb the shock of natural hazards’ strike thereby enhancing long term economic sustenance (Leal Filho, 2013: 100). Livelihoods, Early Assessment Protection (LEAP) Plan The realisation that the earlier recognition of an impending danger the better has prompted the development of a framework can foresee the likelihood of a disaster based on the tale-tell signs and deploy the safety mechanism that can help block its impact. This is a significant move that begun in Ethiopia but has as well been borrowed by several other nations. The World Food Program has integrated it as an emergency plan that can be sued to achieve a sustainable economic development for those affected. The program works to identify and assess early signs of an impending disaster such as drought and inform the relevant stakeholders so as to take preventive measures. This has been extensively vital in minimising the risks of calamities such as floods as the government in such areas can move quickly to relocate those who are likely to be affected (Phillips, 2010: 159). The initiative has also enabled timely responses from the international community as more time is allowed for the effective sorting of probable aid that can rescue the likely victims. As at today, Ethiopia and other countries that have adopted LEAP system have been able greatly to reduce chances of succumbing to natural disaster so significantly. ‘FoodSECURE’ and Food for Assets Programs Many other remedy programs have been further developed that have achieved so much in terms of stewarding poverty disaster victims to channels of economic sustainability. FoodSECURE is a strategy that integrates nations all over the world to combine resources and address the effect that are seen prior to a tragedy or even after. It brings together states and nations in the fight towards food insecurity by collectively working towards minimising the climate perils that are likely to happen. Similarly, Food for Assets are empowerment program that is used by institutions to restore the victims back to their original states by assisting them with materials and resources that they can use to sustain their livelihood. Food, money and farm tools among others are some of the instruments used to enable the victims regain their lost economic glory (Murphy, 2009: 99). Conclusion In summary, as demonstrated, poverty disaster is a real menace that is eating up a large population of the society and statistical evidence clearly show that indeed it is a menace that must be taken seriously. It is not easy to disintegrate poverty and natural disasters and this has been further emphasised by the theoretical positions and viewpoints. The reality of disaster has prompted various response actions aimed at s reducing the risk and assisting the victims. Effective emergency planning is undoubtedly one of the best ways to go about it if a positive outcome in economic sustainability is to be achieved. As proven, various organisations and institutions have worked hand-in- hand to urgently respond to the poverty that unfortunately is a national disaster in most countries in the world. One way that almost all the agencies and institutions have reacted to the disaster is through emergency food relief. Consequently, various programs and strategies have accompanied this; all that are meant to steer the vulnerable persons and victims of this disaster towards sustainable economic development. Programs such as LEAP, R4 Rural Resilience Initiative, FoodSecure and FFA have had great achievements in securing food for victims of poverty disasters. The plans have indeed, extensively transformed the vulnerable communities for the better. References Birkland, T. (2006) Lessons of disaster policy change after catastrophic events, Washington, Georgetown University Press. Brainard, L., Jones, A. & Purvis, N. (2009) Climate change and global poverty, Washington, D.C., Brookings Institution Press. Collins, A. (2009) Disaster and development, London, Routledge. Grebmer, K. (2008) The challenge of hunger 2008, Bonn, Germany, Welthungerhilfe. Hartman, C. & Squires, G. (2006) There is no such thing as a natural disaster, New York, Routledge. Hughes, B. (2009) Reducing global poverty, Denver, Pardee Center for International Futures, University of Denver. Leal Filho, W. (2013) Climate change and disaster risk management, Heidelberg, Springer. Maxwell, D., Parker, J. & Stobaugh, H. (2013) What Drives Program Choice in Food Security Crises? Examining the “Response Analysis” Question. World Development, vol. 49, pp. 68-79. Morris, J. (2009) Disaster planning, Detroit, Greenhaven Press. Murphy, R. (2009) Leadership in disaster learning for a future with global climate change, Montreal, McGill-Queen's University Press. Phillips, B. (2010) Social vulnerability to disasters, Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press. Pielke, S. & Roger A. (2013) Climate vulnerability volume 1, Burlington, Elsevier Science. Read More