Poverty
Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter. However, poverty is more, much more than just not having enough money. The World Bank Organization describes poverty in this way:
“Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.
Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways. Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action — for the poor and the wealthy alike — a call to change the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.”
The main causes of poverty in the country include the following: low to moderate economic growth for the past 40 years; low growth elasticity of poverty reduction; … recurrent shocks and exposure to risks such as economic crisis, conflicts, natural disasters,and “environmental poverty.”
1. INEQUALITY AND MARGINALIZATION
Marginality is an involuntary position and
condition of an individual or group at the
margins of social, political, economic,
ecological and biophysical systems, preventing them from access to resources,
assets, services, restraining freedom of
choice, preventing the development
of capabilities, and eventually causing
extreme poverty.
2. CONFLICT
Poverty and conflict are widely understood to be closely interconnected; with poverty making countries more prone to civil war, and armed conflict weakening governance and economic performance, thus increasing the risk of conflict relapse (Goodhand 2001).
3. HUNGER, MALNUTRITION, AND STUNTING
Hunger and undernutrition are often linked to extreme poverty and lack of access to available, sufficient, nutritious food. Action Against Hunger’s food security and livelihoods programs aim to empower vulnerable communities to improve their access to food, income, and markets.
4. POOR HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS — ESPECIALLY FOR MOTHERS AND CHILDREN
Poverty has been associated with increased total fertility rates, unintended or teenage pregnancy and being a single mother (20–22). In nearly all developed countries, youth living in poverty have a significant increase in risk for teenage pregnancy(22).
5. LITTLE OR NO ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE
Water and health. Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. Absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks.
6. CLIMATE CHANGE
According to the International Labour Organization, children are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, natural disasters and extreme weather phenomena. And the impact of climate change can be particularly harsh for children in low-income countries. When communities begin at a disadvantage, the ravages of climate change are more extreme for the children living there.
7. LACK OF EDUCATION
Poverty reduces a child’s readiness for school because it leads to poor physical health and motor skills, diminishes a child’s ability to concentrate and remember information, and reduces attentiveness, curiosity and motivation.
8. POOR PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Poor infrastructure is also a large factor of poverty. Impoverished people generally live in isolated communities in rural areas. This means that these people do not have easy access to electricity, water, roads and reliable transportation.
9. LACK OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Ineffective governments also contribute to several of the other causes of extreme poverty mentioned above, as they are unable to provide necessary infrastructure or healthcare, or ensure the safety and security of their citizens in the event of conflict.
10. LACK OF JOBS OR LIVELIHOODS
Once individuals are unemployed, the risk of falling into long-term unemployment rises. It’s been found that the characteristics of living in poor neighborhoods create a poverty trap as families don’t have the necessary tools to become employed. … These outcomes reduce an individual’s chances of finding employment again.
11. LACK OF RESERVES
The poverty of First Nations has been the result of being stripped of their lands, their traditional livelihoods, and cultures, and having been placed on less valuable lands as reserves, as well as serious lack of educational opportunities (Neu & Therrien, 2003).