Global Poverty in the World Today - Essay Example

________ ________ Env. S ____ (Day), (Time)______ GLOBAL POVERTY INFORMATIONAL Global poverty is one of the major causes of concern in the world today. The number of poor in the developing nations is high when compared to developed nations. The poor are not only deprived of income and resources, but also of opportunities in education, job and socio-economic wellbeing. Illiteracy or low education affects the ability to get jobs and to access information that could improve the quality of lives. Poor health, malnutrition and lack of good healthcare further limit the underprivileged from the prospects for work and from realizing their mental and physical potential. The imbalanced use of earth resources in an unsustainable manner is another major threat for the future generations’ survival. It is therefore important to analysis these issues in-depth and provide unique solutions. This paper discusses some of the cause and recommends the solutions to fight global poverty. (# of words = 142) KEY ISSUES AND FACTS 1. Over 100 million primary school-age children cannot go to school (Sachs, 2005). 2. Each year, more than 8 million people around the world die because they are too poor to stay alive (Sachs, 2005). 3. More than 800 million go hungry each day (Sachs, 2005). 4. “Approximately 790 million people in the developing world are still chronically undernourished, almost two-thirds of whom reside in Asia and the Pacific.” (Shah, 2005) 5. According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.” That is about 210,000 children each week or just under 11 million children under five years of age, each year (Shah, 2005). 6. “Today, across the world, 1.3 billion people live on less than one dollar a day; 3 billion live on under two dollars a day; 1.3 billion have no access to clean water; 3 billion have no access to sanitation; 2 billion have no access to electricity.” (Shah, 2005) 7. 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, and 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (Shah, 2005). 8. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of the world’s countries) is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people combined (Shah, 2005). 9. 20% of the population in the developed nations consumes 86% of the world’s goods. 10. The top fifth of the world’s people in the richest countries enjoy 82% of the expanding export trade and 68% of foreign direct investment — the bottom fifth, barely more than 1% (Shah, 2005). 11. A few hundred millionaires now own as much wealth as the world’s poorest 2.5 billion people (Shah, 2005). KEY TERMS AND PHRASES 1. Poverty: Those who live in conditions of poverty lack a wide range of economic and other resources and may be described as "poor" or "impoverished". 2. Developing country: A developing country is a country with a relatively low standard of living, undeveloped industrial base, and moderate to low Human Development Index (HDI). 3. Economic inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among nations. 4. Hunger: The term is commonly used more broadly to refer to cases of widespread malnutrition or deprivation among populations, usually due to poverty, political conflicts or instability, or adverse agricultural conditions (famine). 5. Malnutrition: It is a general term for the medical condition in a person caused by an unbalanced diet—either too little or too much food, or a diet missing one or more important nutrients (Wikipedia, 2006). SOLUTIONS 1. According to the United Nations and its affiliated development experts, an end to extreme poverty can be achieved. Effectively tackling global poverty demands a multi-pronged approach and there is no single cure-all (Sachs, 2005). 2. The lives of poor people are most affected by actions at the country level. Countries need to get on a path of sustainable, pro-poor growth that provides opportunities for all, a voice in decision-making and protection from shocks (MDBs/IMF Report to G8, 2000). 3. Achieving sustainable, inclusive and broad-based growth and opportunities requires a sound macroeconomic framework. Policies that promote low inflation, realistic and stable exchange rates, reasonable fiscal deficits, effective integration into the global economy, and private sector activity, are all needed. Investments in the physical and financial assets of poor people are also necessary — adequate schooling and skill development, secured nutrition, preventive health care, rural infrastructure and credit (MDBs/IMF Report to G8, 2000). 4. At the international level, factors such as globalization, the volatility of commodity prices, the availability of knowledge, and flows of private and official capital have a powerful impact on poor countries and their ability to reduce poverty. Advanced countries have an important role to play in contributing directly to the fight against poverty, as well as through the role they play in international organizations (MDBs/IMF Report to G8, 2000). 5. Actions are needed to ensure that opportunities for poor countries are expanded. Industrialized countries should strive to sustain steady global economic expansion to provide the demand conditions for developing countries and to open their markets more completely to imports from developing countries (especially in agriculture, labor-intensive manufacturing and services), within a rules-based trading system (MDBs/IMF Report to G8, 2000). 6. Actions are needed to promote global financial and economic stability and help poor countries deal with shocks. Working jointly with governments and the private sector, the International Financial Institutions play a key role in strengthening the international financial architecture to reduce volatility, and to provide mechanisms for managing financial crises when they occur (MDBs/IMF Report to G8, 2000). CONCLUSIONS, ANALYSIS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS A deeper analysis of global poverty shows that one of the major causes for poverty around the world is unemployment. In many of the developing nations, agriculture is the major source of employment and it contributed a major share in these countries GDP. The low productivity and high investment has made agriculture less profitable and left many people unemployed. Other reasons for global poverty include high illiteracy and population growth rates, frequent natural disasters, inadequate infrastructure, and in some countries excessive dependence on a narrow range of resources and commodities for export earnings. “Counterproductive economic policies in the 1970s and the early 1980s, political instability and conflict in a number of countries, and the continent-wide problem of gender inequality in access to productive assets and social services, have also contributed to sluggish economic growth and widespread poverty” (MDBs/IMF Report to G8, 2000). The unsustainable use of the natural resources in the developed and developing nations is yet another reason for global poverty. It is essential to bring awareness through proper stewardship approaches in managing the natural resources. This is only possible with multilevel governance among public, governments of both developed and developing countries and also non-government agencies and private and public enterprises. Everyone needs to take responsibility at the individual level and also at community level to tackle the problem of unsustainability. “In order to feed the growing population, alleviation of poverty is necessary, as poverty leads to hunger. World hunger is a terrible symptom of world poverty. If efforts are only directed at providing food, or improving food production or distribution, then the structural root causes that create hunger, poverty and dependency would still remain. While continuous effort, resources and energies are deployed to relieve hunger through these technical measures, the political causes require political solutions as well” (Sachs, 2005). Finally, to reduce economic inequality while promoting sustainable development, the national authorities need to give more attention to poverty reduction, employment policies, providing equal opportunities, nullifying gender inequity, and promoting human development. It is also important to boost investment in and access to education and health and promote growth of self employment sectors that often does business on the street and in homes. Actions need to be taken both at country level as well as global level to fight poverty and promote economic and social wellbeing. REFERENCES MDBs/IMF Report to G8, Global Poverty Report July 2000 G8 Okinawa Summit. 20 February 2006. Sachs, J. The End of Poverty (2005); World Bank; UN Shah, A., Causes of Poverty 29 January 2006, Global Issues That Affect Everyone. 20 February 2006. Wikipedia, Poverty 20 February 2006. Read More