Global Poverty and Well-Being - Research Paper Example

?Global poverty Section Explanation of the issue Poverty refers to the of lacking material possessions, including money and other means of support or sustenance (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012). Absolute poverty is the more extreme form of poverty where there is absolute destitution and lack of basic human needs, including food, water, healthcare, education, and clothing (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012). Relative poverty refers to a lack of the socially acceptable level of resources as compared to others in the same society (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012). The percentage of poverty in the developing world dropped to 21% in 2001 with some improvements seen in East and South Asia. Extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa however increased to 46% in 2001 and it combined numbers of individuals living in extreme poverty (World Bank, 2004). Some of the transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia suffered a sharp decline in income in the 1990s and the breakup of the Soviet Union also caused a significant reduction in their Gross Development Product per capita (Radio Free Europe, 2012). Poverty rates in the region increased as a result; improvements were gradually seen in the following years with per capital incomes recovering and poverty rates dropping. The World Bank also declared that poverty rates would start improving in Georgia and Ukraine in 2007 (Radio Free Europe, 2012). World Bank figures also indicate that based on 2004 figures, percentage of people living in poor households in East Asia and the Pacific region are at 9.07%; in Europe and Central Asia at 0.95%; in Latin America and the Caribbean at 8.64%; Middle East and North Africa at 1.47%; in South Asia at 30.84%; and Sub-Saharan Africa at 41.09%. There are also other indicators which are being used to indicate poverty, including life expectancy, child mortality, food supplies or calories taken per day, wage, literacy, and access to clean water (World Bank, 2004). With the increase in the general world population, the number of people living in poverty is also adjusting. Based on the percentage of people living on less than a dollar a day, this percentage has decreased from 31.3% to 20.7% (World Bank, 2007). The World Bank also predicted that the number of people living on less than a dollar a day will continue to increase. Africa is also predicted to suffer even worse conditions in the years to come. Economic aspects of poverty highlights material needs, mostly those which include the necessities of daily living, like food, clothing, shelter, and safe drinking water. Poverty is therefore understood as the condition where a person or community does not have the basic needs to support the minimum standards of well-being, mostly due to the lack of a continued source of income (Townsend, 1979). An assessment of the social elements of poverty considers scarcity and elements of distribution resources as well as power forces in society as determinants of poverty levels. The social elements of poverty include lack of access to information, education, health, as well as political power. Poverty may also be considered in terms of unequal social conditions and social relationship including dependency, social exclusion, and failure to participate or to establish connections in society (Townsend, 1979). This social exclusion can be reduced via higher connections in the general society. The World Bank discussed that based on their assessment of about 20,000 poor individuals in 23 countries, they identified the following elements as determinants of poverty: unstable livelihoods, excluded locations, physical restrictions, gender relations, issues in social relations, limited or reduced security or safety, abuse of power, limited capabilities, disempowered institutions, and weak community organizations (Blastland, 2007). Under these conditions, poverty can be as significant problem, restricting opportunities as well as capabilities among the population affected. The main individuals affected by this issue are the people in developing countries, especially Asia and Africa which suffer from the highest percentages of poverty (Blastland, 2007). The UN has a major role to play in these areas because they are the best agency or organization which can enforce the essential policies to address the issue of poverty in these regions. They can implement assistance and development programs which can help these countries improve the lives of their citizens (Blastland, 2007). Section 2: Analysis of the issue For the United Nations, it is a major part of their responsibility to address the issue of poverty, and to assist developing countries in alleviating the lives of their citizens. For the UN, the issue of poverty means that they have to implement major projects in order to reduce the impact of poverty on individuals who are very much vulnerable to its effects (UNDP, 2012). The UN has to recognize that they need to make an active effort towards eradicating extreme poverty in all its forms – which may relate to income poverty, hunger, disease, inadequate shelter, gender inequality, poor education, and environmental degradation (UNDP, 2012). The UN needs to commit to developing countries, focusing on development assistance and improvements on their markets in terms of exports. Significant initiatives to focus on the legal empowerment of the poor have established renewed attention to the relationship of poverty and injustice. In developing nations, laws and policies for social and economic interactions often do not ensure equal opportunity and protection to the population, most especially the poor, and other minority disadvantaged groups – women, children, and elderly (UNDP, n.d). It is therefore the responsibility of the UN to protect the rights of these minorities, to help provide better opportunities, and to allow entitlement to rights, access to justice, opportunities, as well as services (UNDP, n.d). The UN also needs to establish or secure a rule of law approach founded on international standards supported by treaties and conventions. It is incumbent upon them to establish legislative reform, build institutions, and ensure access to basic economic and legal services, including labor, employment, housing, property, land, health, and environment (UNDP, n.d). The assistance which needs to be handed out to the poor must also be based on the need to enable social and economic progress for these countries. Poverty has impacted the UN in different ways. The United Nations is the international organization which seeks to unite the foreign relations of various independent states. Its goal is also to provide assistance to various countries in need to social, political, and economic assistance (UN, 2009). Poverty has made it difficult for the UN to implement social development in various countries because poverty causes high infant mortality rate and general annual death rates. It also impacts on hygiene and diet-related diseases, especially diseases like cholera, dysentery, and tuberculosis (UN, 2009). These diseases have mostly been eradicated from developed countries, however, these are very much rampant in poor developing countries. As a result, these diseases are making it difficult for the UN to implement effective efforts towards the global eradication of these diseases (WHO, 2007). Issues like epidemics are always significant in these countries, and these epidemics are increasing the risk of massive deaths in these areas. The danger of spreading diseases to other countries is also an ever present one, and one which the UN through its associated health agency – the WHO – has to be prepared for (WHO, 2007). Poverty also increases crime rates as citizens become desperate to find ways to support themselves. In some cases, incidents of crime can lead to issues which cross borders including drug trade, marketing cartels, and the most significant issue of all – terrorism (Chandra, 2003). These issues disrupting foreign relations and are considered general threats to foreign relations and international security. The UN, as an international governing body, is burdened with the task of ensuring that these threats do not become rampant (Chandra, 2003). The UN also can experience difficulties in the implementation of international actions to manage terrorism and similar issues because of the inherent sovereignty of states. As a result, the task of managing the impact and effects of poverty to the international community has become an even more significant challenge for the UN (Chandra, 2003). Poverty also seems to have a significant impact on the development of children. These children are 1.7 times more likely to have low birth weights, they are 2 times more likely to repeat a grade in school, and are 3.1 times more likely to have children out of wedlock. Poverty also causes malnutrition and can stunt their mental development (Minujin, 2012). With unfavorable conditions for these children, there are limited resources from which intelligent future leaders can be drawn. The UN is burdened with the issue of poverty among children and they have to make major strides towards ensuring that the physical and mental development of these children is adequately reached (Minujin, 2012). Poverty also increases the risk of wars and civil strife in areas significantly affected by the problem. States which cannot perform well in the global economic demands due to lack of resources and markets are often prompted to consider wars and civil strife mostly directed towards the government (White, et.al., 2001). For the UN, their burden is to prevent the onset of these conflicts and to ensure the speedy resolution of these incidents. Peacekeeping efforts are in the interest of international peace and are also in the interests of preventing international human rights violations (White, et.al., 2001). Poverty however can make the task of peacekeeping difficult for the UN because the basic cause of the war, which is terrorism, is still very much present. Poverty has brought countries, citizens, ethnic groups, and government authorities in conflict with each other (White, et.al., 2001). As a result, the UN has found it difficult to coordinate and to unite governments, groups, and citizens towards the achievement of common goals. Section 3: Recommendations Based on the above sections, it is important for the UN to implement strong and effective programs to combat poverty. Poverty is rampant in various parts of the world, mostly Asia and Africa. It has also caused various difficulties for the UN, mostly in relation to reducing its impact on the people, on states, on development, on international security, and on global development. Nevertheless, as an international agency, the UN has the burden of addressing the impact of poverty. In order to manage poverty, specific programs and goals have been set to address each of the issues encountered by states. An inclusive and broad-based economic growth has been considered one of these specific programs (UN, n.d). Recommendations on this type of economy include the development of human capital, through the equal distribution of income and assets. Moreover, establishing opportunities for the poor to engage in business, to go to school, or to socialize are also opportunities which can distance these people further away from poverty (UN, n.d). In order to reach a globalized potential and to reduce poverty levels, countries need to build a competitive advantage for their industries. These industries must therefore be able to keep up with global standards. They also need to address the issues which may cause them to lose out on the global competition (UN, n.d). Moreover, they also need to improve their technology in order to improve their productivity and avoid competing on the basis of low wages or poorly managed working conditions. The UN also needs to promote good governance as well as accountability and participation in these poverty-ridden areas (UN, n.d). The government authorities must also be cautioned on their honest and fair practices as well as their transparency and accountability. Securing these elements can prevent corruption and help draw in as many investors as possible (UN, n.d). The UN also needs to prioritize the services delivered to these poor regions, focusing on basic needs and services as well as budgetary policies. Government spending on health and education must also be prioritized in order to reduce deprivation and poverty, to increase the productive capacities and possibilities, and to eliminate the amount that government must allocate in managing the impact of health crisis and deprivation (UN, n.d). The target of the UN and of concerned governments must therefore include the following: access to basic goods and services, productive employment, sustainable employment, human security, reduced inequality, low cases of discrimination, and participation in the community life (UN, n.d). The UN has already made some commitments on the eradication of poverty. These commitments have to be considered by all concerned governments in order to reach widespread implementation. References Blastland, M., 2009. Just what is poor?. BBC NEWS [online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8177864.stm [Accessed 11 June 2012]. Chandra, R., 2003. Global terrorism. New York: Gyan Publishing House. Minujin, A., 2012. Global child poverty and well-being: measurement, concepts, policy and action. New York: The Policy Press. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Poverty [online] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/473136/poverty [Accessed 11 June 2012]. Radio Free Europe, 2012. East: 'if countries don’t act now, it’s going to be too late' [online] Available at: http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1077224.html [Accessed 11 June 2012]. Townsend, R., 1979. Poverty in the UK. New York: Penguin United Nations, n.d. Poverty (online) Available at: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/briefing/poverty/poverty.pdf [Accessed 11 June 2012]. United Nations Development Programme, 2012. Poverty reduction [online] Available at: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/povertyreduction/overview.html [Accessed 11 June 2012]. United Nations, 2009. Agricultural trade reform and poverty in the Asia-Pacific: a survey and some new results. New York: United Nations Publications. White, H., Killick, T., Kayizzi-Mugerwa, S., 2001. African poverty at the millennium: causes, complexities, and challenges. Washington: World Bank Publications. World Bank, 2004. How have the worlds poorest fared since the early 1980s? [online] Available at: http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?ImgPagePK=64202990&entityID=000112742_20040722172047&menuPK=64168175&pagePK=64210502&theSitePK=477894&piPK=64210520 [Accessed 11 June 2012]. World Bank, 2011. Poverty and inequality analysis [online] Available at: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,contentMDK:22569747~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:336992,00.html [Accessed 11 June 2012]. World Health Organization, 2007. Noncommunicable disease and poverty. Washington: World Health Organization. Read More