Poverty
The World Bank estimates that over 1 billion people across the world are living in a state of extreme poverty (earning <$1 per day), with the majority of these people primarily located in Sub-Saharan Africa & Southern Asia.
What is poverty?
The United Nations defines poverty as “a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income, but access to services”.
Impacts of poverty in the Developing World
- Food Security: Food security exists when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious foods to meet their dietary needs for an active and healthy life. People living in poverty have little or no access to a reliable food source- over 800 million people go to bed hungry and 6 million children die every year from malnutrition.
- Health: Statistically, people living in poverty have higher levels of illness and die younger than people not living in poverty. Inadequate access to proper medicine and healthcare results in treatable illness such as Malaria (estimated 1 child death every 30 seconds) and TB (est. 1.6 million deaths 2005) having a devastating impact on health and mortality.
- Water/Sanitation: Over 1 billion people do not have a safe source of water, with an estimated 5 million deaths occurring each year due to water borne diseases. Approx. 2.6 billion people living in poverty do not have access to adequate sanitation.
- Gender Equality: Poverty often deprives women the chance of receiving an education. In developing countries girls are often taken out of education to work in the homes and farms in times of poverty. Poverty affects women disproportionably as they bear the burden of increased labour and trying to manage their household’s incomes, expenditures and food needs.
Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s)
The United Nations published its MDG’s in 2000. The Goals are a set of 8 guidelines to try to improve issues related to poverty and development by 2015.
1) Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger
2) Achieve universal primary education
3) Promote gender equality and empowerment of women
4) Reduce child mortality
5) Improve maternal health
6) Combat HIV&AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7) Ensure environmental sustainability
8) Develop a Global Partnership for Development
So far there has been mixed success in achieving the MDG’s. While the target is to halve levels of extreme poverty by 2015, it is now projected that most countries will not meet this target.
- Global poverty is decreasing, with the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa where the levels of poverty are increasing.
- Hunger and malnutrition levels are still on the increase, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
- Child mortality is declining, but there are still approx. 26,500 children under 5yrs dying every day due to poverty and hunger
- Increased levels of education, gender equality and improved sanitation conditions are still not being met.
"The MDG’s are still achievable if we act now. This will require inclusive sound governance, increased public investment, economic growth, enhanced productive capacity, and the creation of decent work." - United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon.
Poverty in Ireland
The rapid growth of the Irish “Tiger” Economy over the last decade has meant that while the average income for Irish families has risen, so has the gap between the “rich” and the “poor”.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO, 2006) calculated that 6.9% of the Irish population were living in a consistent state of poverty, which means they were unable to afford basic needs such as food and clothing.
A further 17.5% of the Irish population was classified as being at risk of poverty (an individual earning below €202.49 p/w). The average net weekly householdn income in Ireland was €836.44 (household) or €406.84 (individual) in 2006.
Households most vulnerable to poverty were those in which the head of household was:
- Unemployed (60.8%)
- Student (51.6%)
- Ill/disabled (44.4%)
- Lone parent (39.6%)
The study also found that rural dwellers (22.5%) were more at risk of poverty than urban dwellers (16%). An average of almost 20% of gross household income in Ireland was generated from social transfers (i.e. unemployment benefits, pensions etc) in 2006.
In 2007 the Irish Government published its “National Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016: Building an Inclusive Society”. The National Plan aims to eliminate “consistent poverty” in Ireland by the year 2016.
What can I do to improve awareness about poverty?
Encourage family, friends and work colleagues to participate in activities that highlight the impacts of poverty. Activities could include attending meetings, concerts and sponsored sports days/events dedicated to raising awareness and debate on development issues. Check out the website of Activelink to find out what is happening in your area.
Or join a campaign with an organisation such as Trocaire, Concern or Oxfam and challenge the root causes of poverty and injustice.
Organisations in Ireland committed to helping different social groups affected by poverty in Ireland and developing countries include:
- Poverty: ATD Fourth World, Bóthar, Christian AID Ireland, St Vincent De Paul, Combat Poverty Agency, Irish Aid, Concern, GOAL, Oxfam, Trocaire
- Elderly: ALONE, Age Action Ireland, Care Local, Security of the Elderly
- Homeless: Simon Community, Associated Charities Trust, Focus Ireland, IAOP, Trust
- Children: Barnardos, Children’s Rights Alliance, The Hope Foundation
The Money Advice & Budgeting Services (MABS) provides financial management and advice.
The Debt Crisis in Developing Countries
Debt is a major cause of poverty for millions of people in the developing world. In the 1970s and 1980s rich countries and financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund gave loans to poor countries. These poor countries now pay back more in debt repayments than they receive in aid each year, and are often forced to spend scarce resources financing debt repayments rather than putting it into health, education or other social services. The injustice is that many of the loans were given for useless or overpriced projects; to corrupt leaders who stole the money or used it to buy weapons; or on unfair terms and conditions. To find out more and join the campaign for debt cancellation visit Debt and Development Coalition Ireland.
Useful Websites
Trócaire - an Irish non governmental organisation which runs 127 programmes across 39 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Programmes include supporting gender equality, respond to Emergencies and Disasters, addressing the HIV and AIDS crisis, helping people cope with climate change, tackling injustice and defend human rights.
Debt and Development Coalition Ireland - DDCI is composed of organisations and individuals who share a deep concern about the injustice of the debt crisis and a commitment to work together for an effective, fair and speedy solution to the crisis. The Coalition was established in 1993 by a number of development, environment, missionary and solidarity groups in Ireland who were concerned about the devastating effects debt on developing countries. Over 70 organisations are now members of DDCI. The Coalition is funded through membership subscriptions with match funding provided by the European Union. The Development Education work is match funded by Ireland Aid through the National Committee for Development Education.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world to support sustainable economic growth; Boost employment; Raise living standards; Maintain financial stability; Assist other countries' economic development; and to contribute to growth in world trade. The Organisation provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic and international policies.
Fairtrade Ireland - Fairtrade Mark Ireland awards a consumer label, the fairtrade mark, to products which meet internationally recognised standards of Fairtrade. They are a small Third World charity based in Dublin which is active throughout Ireland via their supporter network of dedicated volunteers, involved in the promotion of Fairtrade, the Fairtrade Towns project, and fairtrade products.
Combat Poverty - a State advisory agency developing and promoting evidence-based proposals and measures to combat poverty in Ireland. We were established under the Combat Poverty Agency Act 1986, which sets out our four general functions: policy advice, project support and innovation, research, and public education.
They promote a just and inclusive society by working for a poverty-free Ireland by:
- Conducting high quality research and innovative initiatives which are recognised for their rigour and creative approach
- Advising policymakers on effective and creative approaches to prevent and eliminate poverty
- Promoting their work among policymakers, the social partners, relevant community and voluntary sector groups and the public.
UNICEF Ireland - UNICEF Ireland provides funding for UNICEF’s work worldwide as well as directly funding a growing number of country specific programmes in the areas of health, water and sanitation, education, child protection and emergency relief.
One - a campaign and advocacy organisation with more than 2 million members committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African policy makers and activists.
Global Issues - a web site that looks into global issues that affect everyone and aims to show how most issues are inter-related. The issues discussed in the numerous articles range from trade, poverty and globalization, to human rights, geopolitics, the environment, and much more.
World Health Organization - WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.