What do you think this flag might have to do with Poverty?

Sudanese Refugee Children in Arba Wa Nus Slum in Cairo, Egypt.

Absolute poverty is defined as living on the equivalent of US $2 a day or less. In 2002, 43% of the world population living on this little. This money has to cover the basics of food, shelter and water. Medicines, new clothing and schoolbooks would not be on the priority list.

Territory size shows the proportion of all people living on less than or equal to US$2 in purchasing power parity a day.

 Using the map, describe the geographical distribution of ‘Absolute Poverty’. To help you we can split this into three sub- questions: 1) Which countries have been increased in size, on the map, because they have a high proportion of people living in Absolute Poverty? 2) Which countries have been decreased in size on the map because they have a low proportion of people living in Absolute Poverty? 3) In which parts of the world are the main concentrations of countries that have been increased in size?

Territory size shows the proportion of all people living on less than or equal to US$2 in purchasing power parity a day.

 How much is US $2 in AED?  The average income of somebody who lives in England is £34, 197. What is that in dirhams?  The average income of someone living in Kenya is £210. What is that in dirhams?

This is Patience from Ghana. She is just one week old. And like everyone in Ghana, she already owes $105 to other countries.

 This is Tuan from Vietnam, 14 years old. He’s got nothing. But like everyone else in Vietnam, he owes $92 to other countries.

 This is Juana from Bolivia. She lives on less than $1 a day. But like everyone in Bolivia she owes $320 to other countries.

 These three do not owe the money in person. Their government owe it on their behalf. Such debt is a major problem for Third World countries.

 Poor countries want to develop fast, but they need money to do so.  They do get some aid from richer countries. (Often ‘tied’ to promises.  But aid is not enough. Over the years they had to borrow more. From other governments… …or the World Bank … or the International Monetary Fund

 If you borrow a lot of money, but don’t earn much it means trouble! The lenders want interest on the loan every year. Much of the money the country earns each year is used to pay its debt.

 What sorts of things could the country better spend it’s earnings on? - Schools - Hospitals - Housing - Water wells - And much more!

 The video says that every 3 seconds a child dies of extreme poverty. Why does extreme poverty cause children to die?  If you were in charge of the United Nations, what would you do to try to reduce the number of children dying due to extreme poverty?