By: Haryati (Observer on Global Poverty and a Lecturer at Universitas Pamulang)
Global poverty remains a pivotal yet intricate issue worldwide. Understanding its fundamental causes is crucial to effectively address the underlying problem. In today’s era of globalization and technological advancement, there are sufficient resources available to tackle this issue.
Poverty denotes a state of deprivation where individuals, families, or communities lack the financial means and fundamental necessities to sustain a basic standard of living. These essentials encompass food, clothing, water, and shelter. The World Bank adopted the global poverty line, utilizing factors like purchasing power parity, exchange rates, global prices, and local currency values. Initially set at $1 a day in 1985, it increased to $1.90 a day in 2015, and as of September 2022, it stands at $2.15 due to rising living costs. Living on less than $2.15 a day is classified as extreme poverty.
However, it’s essential to note that the poverty line varies in wealthier nations due to higher living standards and purchasing power differences. Individuals may earn more than $2.15 a day, yet struggle to afford basic necessities like electricity, clean water, education, healthcare, and proper housing. For instance, in the US, the poverty line for an individual is approximately $15,000 a year, or about $56 per day.
Based on the updated poverty line, nearly 10 percent of the global population lives in extreme poverty, with around half surviving on less than $6.85 per person per day. Globally, one in nine people faces hunger or undernourishment. Alarmingly, almost half of those enduring extreme poverty are children, despite comprising only one-third of the global population. An estimated 360 million children live in extreme poverty, while approximately 1 billion lack access to essential necessities like nutrition, housing, education, water, sanitation, and healthcare. Children are more than twice as likely as adults to experience poverty.
Moreover, impoverished communities often remain trapped in cyclical hardship, unable to provide resources, education, opportunities, and basic needs for their children to break free from poverty’s cycle. Tragically, millions of children die annually due to inadequate healthcare and living conditions, perpetuating generational poverty.
Poverty’s impact extends beyond immediate deprivation, affecting children’s mental and physical health, impeding brain development, and leading to long-term consequences. It contributes to developmental delays, chronic illnesses, and perpetuates cycles of poverty into adulthood. Adults in poverty face higher health risks from obesity, smoking, substance abuse, and chronic stress.
The primary causes of global poverty encompass resource distribution inequality, ineffective governance, corruption, discrimination, societal barriers, limited access to healthcare, education, food, water, sanitation, poor infrastructure, high unemployment, insufficient social services, gender inequality, and environmental factors like climate change leading to disasters.
While poverty has existed historically, the 21st century presents a significant difference: the world possesses adequate resources, technology, and wealth to address this critical issue. Addressing global poverty necessitates coordinated efforts at individual, national, regional, and international levels, ensuring access to technology, basic resources, education, healthcare, clean water, sanitation, shelter, and addressing governance issues and corruption.
Collaboration between the private sector, philanthropy, and government developmental programs is vital to channel resources to impoverished communities. Notably, the wealthiest individuals can significantly contribute. Economist Homi Kharas highlighted that a mere 1 percent of billionaires’ wealth could yield substantial yearly funds, surpassing combined annual official aid from countries and institutions.
In essence, global poverty significantly impacts children, yet the resources and technology exist to combat this issue effectively.