Ashley Mwanza
Everyone has a right to live, express their needs, even to access basic knowledge. The problem with worldwide poverty and the unimaginable death toll, is that it is happening everywhere, all the time.
There is no sudden trigger or cause. It is a disaster without a single cataclysmic event. No single site of the tragedy. A mundane horror.
With the current financial crisis, poverty could become a whole lot more real. So what can you do about it?
Poverty is the most recent and important issue that must be handled by all nations. Because, being free from poverty is a part of enjoying a comfortable life. The Millennium Development Goals put this on the top of the agenda for most developing and developed nations to commit to reduction around the world. It starts from poverty eradication and finalizing to commit into the global partnership for development.
Based on evidence and a deeper understanding of the meaning and causes of poverty, the World Bank's World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty argued that major reductions in world poverty are indeed possible.
Economic development continues to be central to success in reducing poverty. But poverty is also an outcome of economic, social, and political processes that interact with and reinforce each other in ways that can ease or exacerbate the state of deprivation in which poor people live. To conquer poverty requires actions—at the local, national, and global levels—to expand poor people's opportunities, empower them, and increase their security.
The challenge of reducing poverty is indeed huge. Action at the national and local levels will often not be enough for rapid poverty reduction. Many areas require international participation, especially by industrial countries. Industrial countries could expand opportunities by opening their markets more completely to imports from poor countries, particularly in agriculture, textiles, light manufactures, and services.
It has been estimated that industrial country protectionism causes annual losses in welfare of more than twice the amount of development assistance. Increasing the participation of poorer countries and poor people may lead to more equity in the rules that govern interactions in the world economy.
Globally, we have the resources to eradicate poverty and hunger, both in rural and urban communities. However, this can only be achieved by moving away from the current neoliberal economic model, which advocates market-based solutions to poverty with minimal interference by governments.
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