POVERTY

Introduction of Poverty
💥Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income.
Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and
[Link] evaluating poverty in statistics or economics there are two
main measures: absolute poverty compares income against the amount
needed to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter;
relative poverty measures when a person cannot meet a minimum level
of living standards, compared to others in the same time and place. The
definition of relative poverty varies from one country to another, or from
one society to another.
💥Social forces, such as gender, disability, race and ethnicity, can
exacerbate issues of poverty—with women, children and minorities
frequently bearing unequal burdens of poverty. Moreover, impoverished
individuals are more vulnerable to the effects of other social issues, such
as the environmental effects of industry or the impacts of climate change
or other natural disasters or extreme weather events. Poverty can also
make other social problems worse; economic pressures on impoverished
communities frequently play a part in deforestation, biodiversity loss and
ethnic conflict. For this reason, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
and other international policy programs, such as the international
recovery from COVID-19, emphasize the connection of poverty alleviation
with other societalgoals.
💥Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs
including food, clothing and shelter. However, poverty is more, much
more than just not having enough money.
💥The World Bank Organization describes poverty in this way:

💥“Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and

not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and
not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the
future, living one day at a time.

💥Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time,
and has been described in many ways. Most often, poverty is a situation
people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action – for the poor and
the wealthy alike – a call to change the world so that many more may
have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health,
protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their
communities.”

💥In addition to a lack of money, poverty is about not being able to

participate in recreational activities; not being able to send children on a
day trip with their schoolmates or to a birthday party; not being able to
pay for medications for an illness. These are all costs of being poor.
Those people who are barely able to pay for food and shelter simply can’t
consider these other expenses. When people are excluded within a
society, when they are not well educated and when they have a higher
incidence of illness, there are negative consequences for society. We all
pay the price for poverty. The increased cost on the health system, the
justice system and other systems that provide supports to those living in
poverty has an impact on our economy.
While much progress has been made in measuring and analyzing poverty,
the World Bank Organization is doing more work to identify indicators for
the other dimensions of poverty. This work includes identifying social
indicators to track education, health, access to services, vulnerability, and
social exclusion.

💥There is no one cause of poverty, and the results of it are different in

every case. Poverty varies considerably depending on the situation.
Feeling poor in Canada is different from living in poverty in Russia or
Zimbabwe. The differences between rich and poor within the borders of
a country can also be great.

💥Despite the many definitions, one thing is certain; poverty is a complex

societal issue. No matter how poverty is defined, it can be agreed that it
is an issue that requires everyone’s attention. It is important that all
members of our society work together to provide the opportunities for all
our members to reach their full potential. It helps all of us to help one
another .

Defination of Poverty
There are several definitions of poverty depending on the
context of the situation it is placed in, and usually
references a state or condition in which a person or
community lacks the financial resources and essentials for
a certain standard of living.
Reasons of Poverty
1. INEQUALITY AND MARGINALIZATION

“Inequality” is an easy, but sometimes misleading term used to describe

the systemic barriers leaving groups of people without a voice or
representation within their communities. For a population to escape
poverty, all groups must be involved in the decision-making process —
especially when it comes to having a say in the things that determine
your place in society. Some of these may be obvious, but in other
situations, it can be subtle.

Gender inequality, caste systems, marginalization based on race or tribal

affiliations are all economic and social inequalities that mean the same
thing: Little to no access to the resources needed to live a full, productive
life. When combined with different combinations of vulnerability and
hazards which comprise the rest of this list — a marginalized community
may become even more vulnerable to the cycle of poverty.

2. CONFLICT

Conflict is one of the most common forms of risk driving poverty today.
Large-scale, protracted violence that we’ve seen in areas like Syria can
grind society to a halt, destroying infrastructure and causing people to
flee (often with nothing but the clothes on their backs). In its tenth year
of conflict, Syria’s middle class has been all but destroyed, and over 80%
of the population now lives below the poverty line.
But even small bouts of violence can have huge impacts on communities
that are already struggling. For example, if farmers are worried about
their crops being stolen, they won’t invest in planting. Women also bear
the brunt of conflict, which adds a layer of inequality to all conflict:
During periods of violence, female-headed households become very
common. And because women often have difficulty getting well-paying
work and are typically excluded from community decision-making, their
families are particularly vulnerable.
3. HUNGER, MALNUTRITION, AND STUNTING
You might think that poverty causes hunger (and you would be
right!), but hunger is also a cause — and maintainer — of poverty. If
a person doesn’t get enough food, they’ll lack the strength and
energy needed to work (or their immune system will weaken from
malnutrition and leave them more susceptible to illness that
prevents them from getting to work).
The first 1,000 days of a child’s life (from womb to world) are key to
ensuring their future health and likelihood of staying out of poverty.
If a mother is malnourished during pregnancy, that can be passed
on to her children, leading to wasting (low weight for height) or
stunting (low height for age). Child stunting, both physical and
cognitive, can lead to a lifetime of impacts: Adults who were
stunted as children earn, on average, 22% less than those who
weren’t stunted. In Ethiopia, stunting contributes to GDP losses as
high as 16%.
ADULTS WHO WERE STUNTED AS CHILDREN EARN, ON AVERAGE,
22% LESS THAN THOSE WHO WEREN’T STUNTED. IN ETHIOPIA,
STUNTING CONTRIBUTES TO GDP LOSSES AS HIGH AS 16%.

[Link] HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS — ESPECIALLY FOR MOTHERS AND

CHILDREN

Extreme poverty and poor health often go hand in hand. In countries

where health systems are weak, easily preventable and treatable
illnesses like malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory infections can be fatal —
especially for young children. And when people must travel far distances
to clinics or pay for medicine, it drains already vulnerable households of
money and assets, and can tip a family from poverty into extreme
poverty.

For some women, pregnancy and childbirth can be a death sentence. In

many of the countries where Concern works, access to quality maternal
healthcare is poor. Pregnant and lactating mothers face a multitude of
barriers when seeking care, from not being allowed to go to a clinic
without a male chaperone to receiving poor or even abusive care from a
doctor. This is especially true for adolescent girls aged 18 and under,
leaving mothers-to-be and their children at increased risk for disease and
death.
5. LITTLE OR NO ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER, SANITATION, AND
HYGIENE
Currently, more than 2 billion people don’t have access to clean water at
home. This means that people (which is to say, women and girls)
collectively spend some 200 million hours every day walking long
distances to fetch water. That’s precious time that could be used
working, or getting an education to help secure a job later in life.

Contaminated water can also lead to a host of waterborne diseases,

ranging from the chronic to the life-threatening. Poor water
infrastructure — such as sanitation and hygiene facilities — can
compound this, or create other barriers to escaping poverty, such as
keeping girls out of school during menstruation
6. CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change creates hunger, whether through too little water

(drought) or too much (flooding), and its effects contribute to the cycle of
poverty in several other ways including disproportionately affecting
women, creating refugees, and even influencing conflict. One World Bank
estimates that climate change has the power to push more than 100
million people into poverty over the next decade.

Many of the world’s poorest populations rely on farming or hunting and

gathering to eat and earn a living — for example, Malawi is 80% agrarian.
They often have only just enough food and assets to last through the next
season, and not enough reserves to fall back on in the event of a poor
harvest. So when climate change or natural disasters (including the
widespread droughts caused by El Niño) leave millions of people without
food, it pushes them further into poverty, and can make recovery even
more difficult.
 7. LACK OF EDUCATION
Not every person without an education is living in extreme poverty. But
most of the extremely poor don’t have an education. There are many
barriers to education around the world, including a lack of money for
uniforms and books, a bias against girls’ education, or many of the other
causes of poverty mentioned here.

But education is often referred to as the great equalizer, because it can

open the door to jobs and other resources and skills that a family needs
to not just survive, but thrive. UNESCO estimates that 171 million people
could be lifted out of extreme poverty if they left school with basic
reading skills. Poverty threatens education, but education can also help
end poverty.
8. POOR PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Imagine that you have to go to work, but there are no roads to get you
there. Or heavy rains have flooded your route and made it impossible to
travel. A lack of infrastructure — from roads, bridges, and wells, to cables
for light, cell phones, and internet — can isolate communities living in
rural areas. Living off the grid often means living without the ability to go
to school, work, or the market to buy and sell goods. Traveling further
distances to access basic services not only takes time, it costs money,
keeping families in poverty.
Isolation limits opportunity. Without opportunity, many find it difficult, if
not impossible, to escape extreme poverty.
ISOLATION LIMITS OPPORTUNITY.
9. LACK OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Many people living in the United States are familiar with social welfare
programs that people can access if they need healthcare or food
assistance. But not every government can provide this type of help to its
citizens — and without that safety net, there’s nothing to stop vulnerable
families from backsliding further into extreme poverty. Ineffective
governments also contribute to several of the other causes of extreme
poverty mentioned above, as they are unable to provide necessary
infrastructure or healthcare, or ensure the safety and security of their
citizens in the event of conflict.
10. LACK OF JOBS OR LIVELIHOODS

This might seem like a no-brainer: Without a job or a livelihood, people

will face poverty. Dwindling access to productive land (often due to
conflict, overpopulation, or climate change) and overexploitation of
resources like fish or minerals puts increasing pressure on many
traditional livelihoods. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for
example, most of the population lives in rural communities where natural
resources have been plundered over centuries of colonial rule — while
conflict over land has forced people away from their source of income
and food. Now, more than half of the country lives in extreme poverty.

11. LACK OF RESERVES

All of the above risk factors — from conflict to climate change or even a
family illness — can be weathered if a family or community has reserves
in place. Cash savings and loans can offset unemployment due to conflict
or illness. Proper food storage systems can help if a drought or natural
disaster ruins a harvest.
People living in extreme poverty usually don’t have these means
available. This means that, when a risk turns into a disaster, they turn to
negative coping mechanisms, including pulling children out of school to
work (or even marry), and selling off assets to buy food. That can help a
family make it through one bad season, but not another. For
communities constantly facing climate extremes or prolonged conflict,
the repeated shocks can send a family reeling into extreme poverty and
prevent them from ever recovering.

Consequences of Extreme Poverty

Extreme poverty is not only a quelling condition, but it is also one of the
world’s biggest problems. The effects of poverty are severe. Some of the
consequences are:-
✨Obstruction in the economic growth and development of the country
✨High infant mortality rate due to inadequate medical facilities
✨Fewer children are enrolled in schools as parents cannot afford their
education
✨Infants with low birth weight suffer from mental and physical
disabilities
✨Unemployment and extreme poverty leads to domestic violence
✨Stress among the family members
✨Malnutrition
✨Increase in hygiene and diet-related diseases
✨Increased rate of homeless people
✨Terrorism
✨Genocide

Prevention of Poverty

📍Develop and implement rapid and sustained economic growth policies

and programs, in areas such as health, education, nutrition and
sanitation, allowing the poor to participate and contribute to the growth.
Studies show that a 10 percent increase in a country’s average income
reduces poverty by as much as 20-30 percent.
📍Improve management of water and other natural resources. Most of
the rural poor depend on agriculture or other natural resources for their
livelihood. Consequently, it is necessary that they have more equitable
access to those resources so they are better able to manage their
resources.
📍Invest in and implement agricultural programs. China has helped 800
million people out of poverty since 1978. As a part of its strategy to
eradicate poverty by 2020, the Agricultural Bank of China will lend more
than $400 billion to help develop rural areas, fund education,
infrastructure, and crop production.
📍Encourage countries to engage in trade as a path out of poverty. Trade
is the key to growth and prosperity. Some of the world’s poorest
countries including Indonesia, Botswana and Brazil have traded their way
out of poverty.
📍Create and improve access to jobs and income and develop
entrepreneurial talent.
📍Providing all people with access to basic social services including
education, health care, adequate food, sanitation, shelter and clean
water.
📍Progressively developing social protection systems to support those
who cannot support themselves.
📍Empower people living in poverty by involving them in the
development and implementation of plans and programs to reduce and
eradicate poverty. Their involvement ensures that programs reflect those
things that are important to them.
📍Remove barriers to equal access to resources and services.
📍Provide access to technology and innovation including internet access
and affordable energy. In Bangladesh, only 40 percent of the rural poor
have access to grid electricity. Those that do have access endure frequent
power outages. The Second Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy
Development Project plans to increase access to electricity in rural areas
via renewable energy sources.