In the modern world, poverty continues to remain as one of the most critical challenges that face the global community. To this end, some policymakers have argued that poverty amounts to the poor in the society being denied their human rights. Poverty manifests in different faces as well as has numerous dimensions. To this end, there is no single universally accepted definition of poverty. While some scholars argue that a family is poor since they have inadequate income, others argue that an individual is poor because they have unmet basic needs. Still others, argue that an individual with unmet basic needs and inadequate income is poor. However, it is also imperative to note that even for a family which lives above the poverty line but lack access to primary health care, basic education or adequate safe drinking water is also poor. Therefore it is almost impossible to define poverty unless adopts a multi-dimensional approach that includes non-measurable attributes including social exclusion, discrimination or deprivation of dignity (Kwon and Eunju 352). Some of the tools that people use today to eradicate poverty in the world include providing educational opportunities to people, creating jobs, increasing access to universal health, and using digital technology.
Poverty can be classified into different categories depending on the interpretation of poverty that one has depending on how they interpret poverty. These may include income poverty, basic needs poverty or mixed poverty. Income poverty refers to where an individual or their family has insufficient income meaning that they are unable to buy the minimum basket of services and goods. The main indicator which is linked to income poverty is headcount ratio that indicates the proportion of households or individuals whose income is below the poverty line. Therefore, the boundary of the poverty line mainly depends on the basket of services and goods that is minimum in a society.
In most countries, the poverty line is $1 per day for each person. It is expressed in terms of the purchasing power parity as at 1985 but is adjusted because of the differences in prices of various goods and services in different countries. Based on this definition, it is estimated that about 1.2 billion individuals across the world especially in the developed countries live in poverty. Specifically, sub-Saharan African region houses the greatest number of people living in poverty.
On the other hand, basic needs poverty is defined as where an individual lacks the basic capabilities to live with dignity. However, basic needs poverty goes beyond to include other characteristics including low birth weight, illness, low education, frequent illnesses, political and social discrimination, or discrimination which is based on age or gender. While discrimination cannot be easily quantified, it is imperative to note that millions of people who live in poverty experience it each day of their life.
While it is almost impossible to completely eradicate poverty since it is mainly caused by human factors, various governmental and non-governmental bodies have developed poverty alleviation programs with the aim of breaking the poverty cycle in many communities and households in the world. A lot has been achieved towards eradicating poverty but more still needs to be done. Typically, poverty eradication involves such use of strategic tools including income and health redistribution, economic development, and educational services redistribution with the aim of improving the livelihoods of individuals living in poverty. Poverty alleviation programs also target at removing legal and social barriers to income growth among individuals living in poverty.
Lifting people living in poverty out of it require governments to translate promises and good intentions into concrete actions. Particularly, it is imperative that people understand that poverty reduction does not just imply boosting the incomes of the poor only. Instead it implies that every individual must have the opportunity to lead a healthy, long, productive and creative life. They must also be capable of enjoying their freedoms, adequate standard of living, dignity, respect for others and self-esteem.
One of the important conditions that constitute prosperity is freedom from fear and want as it allows people to enjoy their well-being. On the other hand, freedom from discrimination is important as it allows people to effectively participate in the society.
According to the United Nations, quality education is one of the tools that may be used to eradicate poverty (United Nations 2). Particularly, it has been argued that quality education is a technique to empower individuals living in poverty to take advantages of the opportunities around them Education helps children from poor families to get information, life skills and knowledge they need so that they can realize their full potential. Therefore, the governmental and non-governmental bodies must prioritize building skills, training teachers, and providing education materials to children living in poverty. They must also ensure that they break down the various barriers that prevent children from poor households from accessing education. It is critical to note that educating girls and women also impacts the whole society. Therefore educating women and girls can help reduce poverty in the United States as well as across the world. Education has been termed as a critical pathway to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. As such, it is a catalyst used for making positive changes in the society. Education also affects other areas including women empowerment, health, and job creation.
Another tool that can be used for eradicating poverty is investing in human capital. Typically, a comprehensive strategy is important in reducing inequalities and poverty. Typically, it has been argued that gains from the economic growth may be invested to expand access to basic healthcare, universal primary education, as well as social protection. Particularly, education has been cited as an essential method of eradicating poverty in the world.
Moreover, investing in healthcare has also been shown to have a great effect on poverty reduction. In this case, short as well as long-term economic gains have been shown to improve each year when government invests in health care. When government and other partners do not invest in improving health, about one hundred million individuals are pushed into poverty annually. Additionally, another 150 million individuals suffer financial catastrophe each year as they have to pay for health services from their pockets. In other cases, it has been shown that many poor people across the world would want to see a medical doctor. However, they are unable as they cannot afford to pay. By the government guaranteeing universal health coverage, they ensure that the general population is not pushed to poverty. One of the leading cause of death and poor health, low productivity, poor learning outcomes is inadequate sanitation or water supply. Therefore, improving access to sanitation and safe water is important in reducing chronic malnutrition and child mortality improves educational and health outcomes. This method should be seen as an important part of eradicating poverty in the society.
Recently, several countries have started to implement strategies for achieving the universal access to health services. This has been made possible by funding health services from revenues realized from alcohol and tobacco taxation. In other cases, some states have started to implement national health plans which are aimed at allowing the elderly, children, women, as well as people living with disabilities to access health services at subsidized costs. In underdeveloped countries, the government has begun to provide mobile clinics to the nomadic populations as well as individuals living in remote areas. This has allowed them to access the health services at a low price thus ensuring that they do not fall into poverty.
Providing citizens with decent employment opportunities and wages has been termed an important method of reducing poverty. To this end, decent work tends to promote inclusion of all members of the society in economic development discussions. Creating job opportunities for people living in poverty with working conditions and decent income is a critical way of making economic growth pro-poor and inclusive (Ravallion 852). Decent wages allow people to use their incomes to pay for essential services including health or education services.
Most individuals living in poverty especially in Sub-Saharan Africa rely on agricultural activities for their activities. Therefore investing in the agricultural sector is important. Rural populations such as the youths need to be re-engaged in agriculture. As such, it reduces food insecurity as well as reduces youth unemployment. As a result, poverty and rural-urban migration are drastically reduced. Governments need to create coherent policies which must be implemented with the aim of addressing youth unemployment. The policies should state how countries are to rejuvenate the agricultural industry which is central to reducing poverty in the society (Lipper et al. 1068). Some of the policies that governments may introduce to rejuvenate the agricultural sector include introducing output diversification, as well as agricultural products value addition programs. The government should also invest in agricultural research, rural infrastructure, as well as health financial inclusion. These programs are important as they allow the youths to escape from poverty.
While some people have indicated that it is almost impossible to rid the world of the present world of extreme poverty, scholars have argued that as compared to other huge problems that the world faces such as war or climate change eradicating poverty is a small challenge. Therefore, there is hope that when the right approach is adopted, it is possible to banish poverty in all its forms in the modern world. Poverty should not be seen as a necessary evil for economic development. In conclusion, to eradicate poverty, the priority actions for both governmental and non-governmental bodies should include improving the access to entrepreneurial opportunities, sustainable livelihoods as well as productive resources for the poor in the world. The government should also provide universal access to the basic social services to all people especially those who live in poverty. There is also the need to intensify international cooperation for the eradication of poverty. Moreover, it is imperative that governments address the disproportionate effect of poverty among children and women. Lastly, it is significant that the government progressively develops social protection systems so as to support individuals who are incapable of supporting themselves. Particularly, for the United Nations, it targets that by 2030, it will eradicate extreme poverty in all its dimensions and forms.
Works cited
Kwon, Huck‐ju, and Eunju Kim. "Poverty reduction and good governance: Examining the rationale of the Millennium Development Goals." Development and Change 45.2 (2014): 353-375.
Lipper, Leslie, et al. "Climate-smart agriculture for food security." Nature Climate Change 4.12 (2014): 1068.
Ravallion, Martin. "Income inequality in the developing world." Science
344.6186 (2014): 851-855.
United Nations. Department of Economic. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2008. United Nations Publications, 2008.
