By Putri Sarah Olivia
Poverty seems like a never ending issue in either developed or developing countries. Some reasons are claimed to be the causes such as lack of individual resources and bad government systems which then lead to hunger, malnutrition, disease, and other issues. If the issues are not to be solved then there will be no hope left for the next generation. Two major components are offered as solutions to the issues that are by establishing and implementing international and national priorities on addressing the issues.
Poverty means lack of access to basic resources including food, clean water, sanitation, education and capital. It is obviously attached to developing countries but also exists in developed countries where there are still people relatively poor compared with richer people living there. Official global poverty statistics provided by World Bank in 2010 shows that almost half the world, over three billion people, live on less than USD 2.50 a day and at least 80 percent on less than USD 10 per day. More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where income differentials are widely spread. The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.According to UNICEF, 22.000 children die each day in 2010 due to poverty. Immediate responses are required to deal with these issues at international and national levels.
All countries worldwideare required to be in unity and have a shared agreement to developnational government's poverty reduction programmes if poverty is to be overcome. Every country is challengedto setnational budget that facilitates equitable distribution of the rewards of economic growth as one of the programmes. In the economic point of view, investing in agriculture is the key to reducing poverty. Through the investments made by foreign investors from developed countries, developing countries can get better national income to help them get funds to get rid of malnutrition and death caused by hunger. This mutual collaboration is also an essential element in addressing the current food prices crisis that is particularlyfaced by the developing countries.
Every country also needs to act on addressing the poverty issues. One way of doing so is by improving government systems. In the political point of view, only government that can make framework of overall development strategy that includes promoting participatory development, creation of employment opportunities and improving access to social services. Therefore, in order to fight against poverty issues, every government should develop policies that accommodate the empowerment of poor people to develop themselves to be independent in supporting their own lives. The government also needs to ensure the absence of self-perpetuating kleptomaniac government officials that drain the national economic growth through corruption and clientele politics, which contributes to poverty issues.
It is universally accepted that everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself/herself and his/her family. Poverty gets in the way of getting the standard fulfilled in the form of a wide range of issues. However, when all nations, both developed and developing ones, work hand in hand towards the same direction of establishing and implementing national and international priorities to address the issues, it is not impossible that the issues can be overcome and that future generation will not be badly impacted by the issues.
