Studies show that at least 80% of people around the globe are living on less than $10 a day (Zeller, et al. 446). This means that there are families out there who need to ration food that will last them a week or a month with a salary that some Americans receive just after working for one hour. The problem is not in the lack of natural resources, we see countries that are rich in terms of minerals, crops and even oil. However, the distribution of wealth is not equal. The problem is that the income differentials are widening, and people are left to starve without a home, without clothing and without clean water.
Each day, tens of thousands of children in Africa alone die of poverty. Congo, one of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world, has an alarmingly high infant-mortality rate. On average, the people who live in this country earn about $2.50 a day, or even less. Although the standard of living is much lower in this part of the world, many families are going without medical care and are living in very unsanitary conditions. Many of the people who live in the remote villages of Congo die in multitudes.
A neighboring country, Malawi, also in Africa is the second poorest country in the world. On average, people live off less than $5 a day (Zeller, et al. 446). Although Malawi has the richest mining sites in the world, the people here live in such terrible conditions. Malawi receives little to no tourists at any given season. It is completely landlocked and the country is very far from water sources. The people here go without clean water and suffer mostly from drought. Malawi prisoners, who were arrested for petty crimes go without trial. Some of them have bail for $10 or less, yet they cannot afford it. Many die quietly in jail, without hope for survival. About one in every four Malawans are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. These people do not receive the right medical treatment and are not aware of the impacts a chronic disease like HIV/AIDS can bring.
Besides the poverty-stricken Sub-Saharan countries of Africa, there are a number of Southern Asian countries that are also plagued with poverty. Over two-thirds of the world’s population lives in the crowded countries of Asia. They are either packed in the metropolitan areas or scattered across the rural towns. Despite living in agricultural countries, and having enough natural resources to supply the nations’ GDP, the distribution of wealth is not equal. This means that 80% of the population is receiving about 15% or less of the country’s wealth while the top 5% are enjoying luxuries (Zeller, et al. 446). This wealth distribution triangle is also seen in the world’s distribution of wealth.
Another problem is that most of these countries are vulnerable to extreme weather conditions such as heavy rain, drought and even typhoons. Instead of being able to continue working, many countries are devastated by these natural disasters. A great example of this was seen just last November when super-typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines. Instead of being able to go about their work, and live off the land that they have, many people who had barely anything to begin with are struck down.
The Sub-Saharan countries in Africa often suffer from drought and lack of clean water. Many children are born alarmingly underweight and child-growth is stunted at an early age due to lack of nutrition. There are a lot of people in these parts of Africa who are considered “invisible”. They live their whole lives going without an education, without proper housing, without medical care.
The idea to end poverty started in a G-8 Summit when then President Bush along with seven other global leaders agreed to put more effort in to ending poverty (Katel). They pushed their countries’ policy-makers to increase aid by $50 billion a year. Other than direct aid, the countries also agreed on supporting the economies of impoverished developing countries by stimulating their local markets.
Although it was a start, the plan was criticized for being too simplistic. They also thought that things such as corruption, medical issues, drought, malaria and other obstacles would prevent efforts like these from happening. The target date to end poverty was by the year 2015 (Katel). Now, in the year 2013, not only are the conditions for those in the Sub-Saharan countries of Africa and Southern Asia getting worse, the United States also sees itself in debt.
The year 2015 is very close, and there are still millions of people in Africa and Southern Asia who are not receiving the right amount of aid. The effort to relieve these countries of poverty should first start locally. The rural areas which are suffering the most need to be stimulated in terms of jobs. Local projects such as building schools and micro-businesses can help people find jobs and will also stimulate the economy. There are a lot of people in Africa who are employed by outsiders in the mines or other areas. These workers tire themselves day in and day out for a salary that can barely feed a family of four. Not to mention, they do not have any healthcare or receive benefits.
Local NGOs should create situations in which people can be employed near their families and work in a smaller, tighter community (Sahn). Since corruption is rampant in this part of the world, efforts from Non-government organizations should increase. Local spending and productivity should increase.
Schools can really help because they will provide children a means of education. Studies show that nearly a billion of people who entered the 21st century are illiterate, most of these people are from these developing countries (Zeller, et al. 446). When schools open, you will need people to build the structures, create furniture, become teachers and sell food in something like a canteen. The construction and the operations of the school can be a small start to giving people jobs, and it will give children hope.
These schools can teach children more about the conditions they are dealing with such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and other problems plaguing their country. With more exposure to these types of information, they will be able to become more aware of ways to avoid it.
Not only will children have a place to learn, mothers will be able to create micro-businesses. They can open small stores that sell snacks or homemade food. Some can sow uniforms or school clothes. Others can provide pencils and writing materials. Little movements inside the micro-economies of these villages can help stimulate growth and it will give everyone within the villages hope. This way, they do not just have to rely on the government or other companies from foreign lands which are only there to exploit their natural resources and get cheap labor. Ending poverty does not have to be instant, that would be impossible. Small changes one village at a time, one area at a time and one country at a time can really make a big difference. The best thing that something like this can bring is hope for a better future.
Works Cited
Katel, Peter. Affirmative action. CQ Researcher, 2008.
Sahn, David E., Paul A. Dorosh, and Stephen D. Younger. Structural adjustment reconsidered: Economic policy and poverty in Africa. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Zeller, Manfred, et al. "An operational method for assessing the poverty outreach performance of development policies and projects: Results of case studies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America." World Development 34.3 (2006): 446-464.
