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Poverty eradication depends on us
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The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on October 17. The first commemoration of the event took place in Paris, France, in 1987 when 100k people gathered to honor victims of poverty, hunger, violence and fear. Metro examines the current state of poverty worldwide and the ways to eradicate it. DANIEL CASILLAS
Metro World News
Poverty is one of the most important challenges the world is facing, because of the problems it creates, including famine, lack of social development and insecurity. Hundreds of countries and social organizations struggle daily to combat it, but the results are not always satisfactory. However, specialists claim that solution requires a change in the attitude of governments and society towards those who suffer from it. And it all depends on our own decisions. Despite decades of work made by international organizations and governments, the problem of extreme poverty in many regions of the world has not yet been eradicated. It affects millions of people, who barely survive with basic goods and cannot aspire to greater social development due to a lack of economic resources. According to the most recent World Bank data, 10.7 per cent of the world’s population (766 million people) lived on less than $1.90 per day in 2013. Poverty, suffered by mi-
llions, creates dozens of problems for society, but the main one, according to experts, is the lack of opportunities and development. “The most important problem is the wasted potential and lost opportunities that come when we don’t invest in making sure that all people have the ability to provide for themselves,” Larry Reed, specialist at Results, a nonprofit group that advocates for the poorest of the poor, explained to Metro. Statistics show that the global problem of poverty has declined significantly
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in recent decades. The number of those suffering from it worldwide has declined by millions. A World Bank monitoring revealed that the number of poor people indeed declined from 12.7 per cent of the world’s population in 2011 to 10.7 per cent in 2013 – from 896 million people to 766 million – meaning 130 million people were lifted out of poverty. While progress in combating the issue is visible, the World Bank acknowledges that the number of people living in extreme conditions remains unacceptably high.
And while poverty rates have declined in all regions, progress has not been uniform. For example, in recent decades, the composition of poverty in regions such as East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (which account for approximately 95 per cent of global poverty) has changed dramatically. In 1990, East Asia accounted for half of the world’s poor, while about 15 per cent of them lived in sub-Saharan Africa. According to 2015 forecasts, this situation has almost completely reversed: subSaharan Africa accounts for half of the world’s poor, while about 12 per cent of them live in East Asia. In this regard, the World Bank notes that poverty is declining in all regions, but is becoming more acute and persistent in countries that are affected by conflict or over-dependent on commodity exports. In addition, it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach those still living in extreme poverty, as they are often found in fragile contexts and remote areas. Experts believe that one of the greatest challenges when it comes to the fight against poverty is the idea that nothing can be done to end this problem. “The biggest problem is cynicism, the belief that nothing can be done to eliminate extreme poverty. Most people don’t know the good news about the large reductions in poverty levels in the
WWW.READMETRO.COM OCTUBRE 2017
Q&A PHILIP ALSTON
UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
What is the state of poverty around the globe? In historical terms, there has been an immense decrease in poverty over the past 30 years or so, particularly in developing countries such as China and India. The World Bank is the main source of statistics, but they use a benchmark that says if you are living on more than $1.90 per day you have ‘escaped’ extreme poverty. There aren’t many places in this world where you can enjoy a decent existence on that sort of money. The UN’s measure is broader and takes account of things like access to health care and education, and freedom from the threat of violence. By that standard, close to 1 billion people still live in poverty in the world. What is being done to combat it? The international community focuses on efforts such as the Sustainable Development Goals to address poverty in lower income countries, but that is not enough. Poverty is prevalent in upper-income countries too. As UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights I see the same governments who are great supporters of these international efforts, moving in the opposite direction at home. They are dismantling their domestic social security regimes, removing health insurance benefits, changing their constitutions to minimize social expenditures, and blaming the poor and marginalized for their poverty. To me, these efforts demonstrate that many governments aren’t really serious about addressing poverty.
What else should be done to eradicate poverty? The most important thing to recognize is that the continued existence of poverty is a political choice. We could eliminate poverty if we wanted to, but we actually don’t care and prefer to assume that all poor people are losers who have brought their distress upon themselves. We don’t even hesitate about leaving vast numbers of children living in poverty, even though they certainly are not to blame for the situation they find themselves in. In the west, we’re obsessed with tax cuts which we know will only make the rich even richer, and will do nothing to help the poor. Specific measures that are essential to fighting poverty include addressing inequality and redistributing wealth through proven, effective means of fighting poverty, such as unconditional cash transfers, educational opportunities, and gender-based empowerment. What is the main problem people living in poverty face? Lack of ability to escape it. If you are hungry, you can’t concentrate in school. If the poor neighborhood you live in is not protected by the police, you are likely to be subjected to physical and psychological trauma, and to have your meagre property frequently stolen. If you have bad teeth because there is no fluoride in your water system and you can’t afford dental care, you are less likely to get a job. If you do have a job, it is likely to be casual and paid by the hour, so you can’t take time off from work to go to the polls to vote for the party or person that might help you. The cycle is vicious and people face obstacles at every step.
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last 40 years. This belief that nothing can be done about poverty leads to inaction, not making the investments needed to finish the job”, Reed stated. Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights believes the problem could be solved with a political decision: “It is a political choice made by societies and governments, but not by the individuals who are poor. Recognizing this is an essential first step to eradicating poverty.” Despite the enormous challenges of eradicating poverty, Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank
Group, recently stated that projections by the lead agency “show us that we are the first generation in human history to end extreme poverty.” In fact, a recent report by the UN predicts that the percentage of the affected population will fall to 6.5 per cent by 2030, with 550 million people expected to be in extreme poverty by that year. However, although this is a significant advance from current levels, with this figure, the international community would fail to meet one of the main targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is “poverty eradication” by 2030.