Poverty In A Growing Population

We have here 10 possible solution to end poverty.
1. Creating Good Jobs
Creating jobs , both in the United States
and abroad, is a great way to reduce
poverty. When people have jobs, they
have income, and when people have
income, they can more easily get
themselves out of poverty. The UN says
that “unemployment and
underemployment lies at the core of
poverty. For the poor, labor is often the
only asset they can use to improve their
well-being.”
Source: U.N. Poverty
Photo: Starbucks

2. Educating Women
The education of girls and women
impacts the rest of the societies in
which these girls and
women live. Degree of education is
linked to the age at which women marry
and have children, to their health and
diseases, to their economic
opportunities, to their social standing,
and to their general future wellbeing.
Educating girls and women can reduce
poverty in developing nations, as well as
in the United States.
Source: Reuters
Photo: Foundation Center

3. Raising Wages
The United States hasn’t raised the
federal minimum wage since
2007. Because of this, right now, “A full-
time worker with two children earning
the minimum wage will still raise his or
her family in poverty.” And this is an
issue in almost every other country,
especially in developing nations. Raising
the minimum wages could potentially
increase the health and wellbeing of
millions.
Source: American Progress
Photo: Online Actions

4. Microfinancing
Microfinance is defined as the “supply of
loans, savings, and other basic financial
services to the poor.” Right now, only
about “10 percent of the global
population has access to traditional
banking,” according the Gates
Foundation. However, using
microfinance, people who are
unemployed or who have a low
income could get small loans to help
themselves become self-sufficient. An
organization called Kiva has provided
over $329 million to 786,000 lenders,
with a repayment rate of 98.97%.
Microfinance is a promising way to
alleviate poverty.
Sources: Kiva
Photo: The Digerati Life

5. Gender Equality
As the U.N. Development Programme
says, “when women have equal access
to education, and go on to participate
fully in business and economic decision-
making, they are a key driving force
against poverty.” Not only this, but
increases in gender equality
raises household incomes
and “translates into better prospects
and greater well-being of children,”
which is a smart way reduce the poverty
for future generations, as well as our
own generation.
Source: U.N. Development Programme
Photo: Fii Voluntar

6. Transparency in Government Spending
Creating transparency in government
spending of money can help reduce
corruption in governments. When
governments are accountable to their
citizens for their action, or inaction, in
different areas of the federal budget, the
citizens will be able to accurately assess
how well their leaders are leading their
country. Also, it allows citizens to see if
money is being taken away from
poverty-reduction plans and into the
pockets of their leaders, which could be
a cause of a stagnant economy or job
market.
Source: Arbitrage Magazine
Photo: AZ Capitol Times

7. Canceling National Debts
As mentioned by Share the World’s
Resources, “It is internationally
recognized that the debt burden of the
world’s poorest, most indebted countries
has to be tackled if they are to set
themselves on a path of sustainable
growth, development, and poverty
reduction.” This is why the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank
have created the Initiative for Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs). The
initiative helps with the debt relief to
currently 23 poor countries (mostly in
Africa) who are committed to
eradicating poverty in their nations.
There have been successes in a few
countries, thus far, and this initiative
can help governments “get back on their
feet” so that they can focus on
developing for the future instead of
trying to pay back what was spent in the
past.
Source: Share the World’s Resources ,
International Monetary Fund
Photo: Intellectual Takeout

8. Access to Heath Care
The President of the World Bank , Jim
Yong Kim, says that he believes
“universal health insurance coverage in
all countries can help achieve a goal of
ending extreme poverty by 2030.” He
says that because about 100 million
people are pushed into extreme poverty
every year by having to spend money on
health issues, and that because health
issues push about another 150 million
into severe financial hardship, universal
health insurance could greatly relieve
poverty, globally.
Sources: Businessweek
Photo: Tennessee.gov

9. Access to Clean Water and Sanitation
The World Bank says that “Access to
clean water and sanitation is one of the
most cost-effective development
interventions, and is critical for reducing
poverty.” The reasons for this are that
women can use the time that they would
have spent fetching water to work and
produce more, agricultural production
could increase, and the costs of services
and goods could go down a fair amount.
Not only that, but because “diseases
caused by unsafe drinking water and
poor sanitation are the most significant
child health problems worldwide,”
having access to clean water could
significantly lower the health care
costs of these many children.
Source: World Bank
Photo: Green Earth Systems

10. Nutrition, Especially in Infants
Adequate nutrition is an incredibly
important indicator of a person’s ability
to get out of poverty, later in life. Those
who are malnourished from the time of
conception to 24 months, postpartum
“have a higher risk of lifelong physical
and mental disability.” Because of this,
they are “often trapped in poverty,” and
are not able to make the full
contribution to the “social and economic
development of their households and
communities, as adults.” This is a cause
of poverty for many people, and in many
countries, the GDP goes down due to
this early malnutrition in infants.
Sources: The Hunger Project, World Bank
Photo: HumanRights.Asia
– Taylor Prinsen
Feature Image: Celebration of Life

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