Global Issue: Poverty

What is poverty? World bank defines the extremely poor as those without enough income to meet basic needs Terms used to describe and measure poverty Income or consumption Human (under)development Social exclusion Ill-being (Lack of) capability and functioning Vulnerability Livelihood unsustainability Lack of basic needs Relative deprivation

Poverty Levels 1.4 billion people live at poverty line or below of $1.25 a day. Almost half the world—over three billion people—live on less than $2.50 a day At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.

Poverty Levels China’s poverty rate fell from 85% to 15.9%, or by over 600 million people. Excluding China, poverty fell only by around 10%

UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal 5: Improve maternal health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Task Force on Hunger Halving hunger can be done, 7 recommendations 1. Move from political commitment to action 2. Reform policies and create an enabling environment 3. Increase the agricultural productivity of food-insecure farmers 4. Improve nutrition for the chronically hungry and vulnerable 5. Reduce vulnerability of the acutely hungry through productive safety nets 6. Increase incomes and make markets work for the poor 7. Restore and conserve the natural resources essential for food security 12 myths of poverty ted ted

Inequality Key factors to reducing poverty will be: The reduction in inequality The reduction in income differences About 0.13% of the world’s population controlled 25% of the world’s assets in 2004

Developed vs. Developing countries Improvement in living standards A stable political, social and economic environment The ability to make free choices Be able to participate in a democratic environment United Nations calls Human Development: Human development is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. It is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests. People are the real wealth of nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value. And it is thus about much more than economic growth, which is only a means—if a very important one—of enlarging people’s choices.

Inequality Global Priority$U.S. Billions Basic education for all6 Water and sanitation for all 9 Reproductive health for all women 12 Basic health and nutrition 13

Inequality in urban settings Approximately 1 billion people live in slums (1 in every 6) Some settlements don’t have official recognition  Few or no services (water, sanitation, electricity, garbage collection, health, education, access roads and transport) In some developing countries, 1 in 3 people living in cities are living in slum areas Kenya’s Kibera slum, Sub-Sharan African largest informal settlement Nairobi’s two million slum-dwellers

Inequality in urban settings 2008/2009 UN Habitat report: Some 3 million people per week were added to cities of developing world. Some American cities are as unequal as African and Latin American cities. Race is one of the most important factors determining levels of inequality in the US and Canada. The most unequal cities were in South Africa and Namibia and Latin America. Beijing was now the most egalitarian city in the world, just ahead of cities such as Jakarta in Indonesia and Dire Dawa in Ethiopia. Europe was found to be generally more egalitarian than other continents. Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Slovenia were classed as the most equal countries while Greece, the UK and Spain were among the most unequal.

Inequality in rural areas International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) report Dec. 2010

The gap The world’s 10 wealthiest nations are now more than 75 times richer than the 10 poorest.

The gap Latin America has the highest disparity rate Income inequality with the richest one tenth of the population earning 48% of its total income, while the poorest tenth earns only 1.6% 10 of the 15 most unequal countries in the world are in Latin America: Bolivia, followed by Haiti, Brazil, Ecuador, and Chile, which is tied in fifth place with Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Paraguay. In the US the top 1% receives more money than the bottom 40%. 1 in 7 people in the US are in poverty. The income of the richest 10% of people is, on average across OECD countries, nearly nine times that of the poorest 10%. Mexico, where the richest income is more than 25 times those of the poorest Turkey, where the ratio is 17 to 1 USA, where the ratio is 16 to 1. In Nordic countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Finland, the gap is much smaller where the ratio is around 5 to Inter Press Service (IPS) report

Collateral Effects Education: Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names Less 1% of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen. Health: Infectious diseases: An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in Every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities Shelter: Approximately half the world’s population now live in cities and towns In developing countries some 2.5 billion people are forced to rely on biomass—fuelwood, charcoal and animal dung—to meet their energy needs for cooking Water: Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day. 1.8 billion people who have access to a water source within 1 kilometer, but not in their house or yard, consume around 20 liters per day. UK- 50 and US - 600