1. Poverty
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Poverty – is a shortage, deficit or lack of personal resources.
Necessities - Required resources that all citizens are entitled to. (food, shelter, clothes)
Want – an item or resource that an individual desires but is deemed non-essential

2. Poverty is one of the most important factors influencing human life
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Poverty is one of the most important factors influencing human life

3. It is an indicator of a country’s relative status within the world

4. It is a relative term as individual wants and needs vary from place to place

5. UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
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UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
HDI IS BASED ON THREE INDICATORS:
(Life expectancy, Literacy Rates, Per Capital GDP.
1. Life Expectancy
A baby girl born in Canada can expect to live to 85 years of age, have sufficient food, vaccinations and a good education. On average she will have $550 spent on medication per year for her needs, with more available if necessary. If she were born in Sierra Leone she would have a life expectancy of just 36 years, not be immunized, be undernourished and if she survived childhood would marry as a teenager and give birth to six children. Childbirth would represent a high risk to her. One or more of her children would die in infancy. She could expect only $3 a year to be spent on medication.

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2. Literacy Rates
Determined by calculating adult and youth literacy rates, primary and secondary school enrolment, % of children who reach 5th grade and the # of students who enroll in math, science and engineering programs at the end of secondary school careers
South Asian, Sub-Saharan and Arabic countries tend to have the lowest literacy rates, as low as 20-30%
Canada’s literacy rate is 99%

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3. Per Capita GDP
Gross Domestic Product is the sum total of all goods and services produced over a period of time within a country.
The poorest countries have as low as $400GDP per capita
Canada’s is $22 000GDP per capita
The 2006 UN Human Development Report listed these countries:
Top 5  Norway / Iceland / Australia / Ireland / Sweden / Canada
Bottom 5  Niger / Sierra Leone / Mali / Burkina Faso / Guinea-Bisseau

8. The Poverty Cycle – page 347 of Counterpoints
Poverty can be a trap that turns into a cycle – difficult to get out of
Baby born to a
Malnourished mother
Baby’s development
is slowed
Family in debt
Many young;
Few job prospects
Poor nutrition &
medical care
Physical/mental
development slowed
Limited diet,
Poor general health
Poor performance
in school
Reduced likelihood
Of economic success
Low literacy
level
The Poverty Cycle – page 347 of Counterpoints

9. Causes? – MAKE A WEB in your notebook
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Causes? – MAKE A WEB in your notebook

10. War and international conflict
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War and international conflict

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Natural catastrophes

12. Low levels of education = no personal choices
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Low levels of education = no personal choices

13. Lack of natural resources
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Lack of natural resources

14. Mounting debt
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15. Solutions?

16. International Monetary Fund
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International Monetary Fund
Organization of 184 Countries who provide loans to poor countries. Money can only be used to help a country balance their budget.
The IMF uses “Structural Adjustment Policies” as conditions to receiving loans

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The World Bank
Agency of the UN – Provides Loans and Grants to poor countries. Money can be used for development projects.

18. ***
Forgiving Debt…
Debt payments in developing countries takes money away from the development of services that could improve their standard of living.

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Factoids!
For every US $1 received in Aid, the world’s most impoverished countries repay $13 on old debts.
Debt payments in some countries are 3X the amount spent on healthcare. (ie: $22US on debt, $14 on Education, $8 on Healthcare.)
Every African man, woman, child owes US $357 to Northern Creditors. They live on 27 cents per day!

20. How does Development Occur?
TRADITIONAL ECONOMY – subsistence agriculture (low productivity)
DEVELOPING ECONOMY – new technology and infrastructure increase productivity, such as transportation and banking
DEVELOPED ECONOMY – diverse areas of wealth generation, strong secondary industries and dominant tertiary industries. Massive consumption of consumer goods and services. Market economy based on supply and demand of capitalism!