How to Reduce the Gap between the Rich and the Poor - Article Example

World Hunger It is a shame for the civilized world like ours that millions of people all over the world are still struggling to find their livelihood even though we are spending trillions of dollars for wars like war on terror. The struggle for existence made somebody victorious in accumulating wealth while others still struggling to survive. Those who victorious in this struggle became more and more powerful as the time progresses while the rest struggled even harder and harder. The declared aim of politicians or the administrators of every country is to reduce poverty or to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. In fact no country can claim that they are free from poverty. Poverty is a condition in which a person fails to maintain adequate living standards for him and for his family members. African continent is one of the major regions in which still thousands of people die daily out of hunger. Political instability, ethnic clashes, lack of natural resources, illiteracy etc are cited as the major reasons for poverty in Africa. Africa is not alone when we consider the global statistics of poverty. Even some of the highly developed countries and developing countries like America, India, China etc also facing poverty related problems. According to Usborne (2008), “28 million people in the US will be using government food stamps to buy essential groceries in the fiscal year 2008, the highest level since the food assistance program was introduced in the 1960s” (Usborne). In short, poverty is a universal phenomenon which can affect any country irrespective of their economic power. This paper briefly analyses hunger or poverty in countries or regions like Africa, Brazil and United States. The one hour long documentary film, Silent Killer was succeeded in portraying hunger at different parts of the world. This film has pointed out that more than 1500 children die each day because of poverty. This film argues that we can eradicate poverty or hunger from the world if have strong desire or commitment towards this issue. This film begins in the African desert Kalahari with three members of an African tribal family searching for the Hoodia, a cactus-like plant with appetite-suppressant properties. They use this plant in order to suppress their hunger. At the same time the film shows that the same plant can make a diet product for obese Americans and Europeans. In other words, Hoodia is used by the Africans to suppress their hunger whereas it is used by the Americans to reduce their obesity (Silent Killer). The above film succeeded in portraying some irritating facts about world hunger. It educates us that the same food is used differently by different people in the world. We know that overeating is one major reason for causing obesity. In other words, Americans and Europeans who consumed more than enough food are currently trying to shed some of their weight whereas Africans who consumes lesser foods are trying to suppress their hunger. The two sides of the hunger problems are beautifully portrayed in this film. It indirectly explains that the world hunger problems are still not rectified because of the over eating habits of some people at the expense of others. Even in America which is supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world, poverty is still there. “Startling official statistics show that as a new economic recession stalks the United States, a record number of Americans will shortly be depending on food stamps just to feed themselves and their families” (Usborne). Many people have the false belief that all the Americans are living in better conditions. However, the recent recession unveiled some of the darker sides of America’s social life. The photograph given below clearly shows that even in America, some people are still struggling to get adequate food. Disadvantaged Americans queue for aid in New York (Usborne) America is spending trillions of dollars for war on terror. Iraq war and Afghan war succeeded only in increasing poverty in America. Even half of the amount spent for these wars could have eradicated the poverty or hunger form the entire world. “In Brazil poverty affects more than a quarter of the population - some 44 million people. In north eastern Brazil, the poorest parts of the country, almost half of all families live on approximately a dollar a day”. Brazil is believed to be one of the rapidly developing economies in the world. In fact Brazil is referred as one among the four emerging economies (BRIC-Brazil, Russia, India and China) in the world at present. Still it is surprising to learn that the per capita income of some of the Brazilians is less than a dollar per day. Social inequalities are still prevailing in Brazil which is the major reason why some people live in good conditions while others struggle to find their food. Brazil is currently undertaken a national campaign called FOME ZERO-Zero Hunger, aimed to eradicate poverty from its soil. The Film Silent Killer, teach us how well administration can tackle poverty or hunger with the help of an example from Brazilian city Belo Horizonte. Under the FOME ZERO-Zero Hunger programs, the right to food is guaranteed to all (Silent Killer). The Brazilian example of managing hunger reveals that hunger is manageable, if and only if the administration exhibit strong commitments. Eradication of poverty should be given first priority in the administrative policies. All the other aspects should be treated with secondary importance only. Africa is another region which is struggling to cater the food needs of the people. According to UNICEF, WHO statistics, in Africa, “a child dies every three seconds from AIDS and extreme poverty, often before their fifth birthday. More than one billion people do not have access to clean water. Every year six million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday” (Extreme Poverty in Africa). Africa is the worst affected region in the world as far as poverty is concerned. There are many reasons cited by sociologists and economists for this poverty related epidemic. Most of the states in Africa are ruled by dictators and they loot the resources for their personal gains. They are more interested in cementing their places rather than giving any importance to the problems faced by their country. Corruption and robbery is prevailing in every corner of African social life. For example, Somalia is an African country currently captured the headlines because of the ship robbery by the Somali thieves. “Poverty, in Somalia, is a way of life. People have been adjusting themselves to a situation of deprivation. Living with severe shortages in terms of basic services has become an accepted norm of life” (Mohamed). Somali leadership failed miserably in ensuring good governance in the country. “Somalia joined the World Bank in 1962. Since then, World Bank assistance on 40 projects totalling about US$526 million has helped the country work towards improving governance, promoting economic growth and reducing poverty (Somalia –Overview). The above statistics clearly shows that African countries are getting ample assistance from international organizations; however the administration failed to utilize it in the right manner. To conclude, different reasons are there for the poverty in different countries. Visionless foreign policies and the thirst to conquer the entire world are some of the basic reasons for poverty in America whereas corruption, lack of natural resources, political instability etc are the reasons for African poverty. Social inequalities seem to be the major reasons for poverty in Brazil. In any case, strong commitment by the administrations is the only way to eradicate poverty from their soil. Works Cited 1. “Extreme Poverty in Africa”. Web. 09 March 2011 2. Mohamed Abdi-Noor Haji , “Poverty in Somalia”, Web. 09 March 2011 3. “Silent Killer”. 2005. Web. 09 March 2011. 4. “Somalia –Overview”. Web. 09 March 2011. 5. Usborne, David. (2008), “USA 2008: The Great Depression”, The Independent. Web. 09 March 2011. Read More