Causes of Poverty

Practice: HDI Development

Poverty Prediction Questions

Which TWO population groups are most vulnerable to effects of global poverty? Name 2 challenges facing children living in povertyName a medical pandemic or medical illness that is currently devastating populations living in povertyWhich region of the world is most at risk to global poverty?What is the name for neighbourhoods on the outskirts of cities where people living in extreme poverty?

Review: Four Levels of Dev’t

1. Highly Industrialized (Very High) 2. Newly Industrialized (High) ~ 3. Developing Countries (Med) 4. Highly Indebted Counties (Low)

Global GDP - 2009

Today’s TopicCAUSES OF POVERTY

What is Poverty?Hard to defineDepends on where you are discussing ~ context

Canada vs. Congo$2.00 a day ~ barely anyone can survive on this

Short Film “Wilbur Goes Poor: Part 1” – what does it mean to be poor in India’s context?

Poverty in Developing Countries

Almost half the world – over 3 billion people – live on less than $2.50 a dayThe GDP of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s richest people combinedWomen and children are the most vulnerable to issues of poverty – trapped in cycles of povertyThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to a reasonable standard of living – we need to help make sure that people have the access to basic needs that we do in Canada

The difficulties a developing country faces in breaking the

poverty cycleHunger & MalnutritionHIV/AIDSMalaria and other diseasesLack of educational opportunity ~ Gender InequalityWar and ConflictFamily planning issues – lack of contraception

Corrupt governmentsEnvironmental disasters – desertification, famineScarcity of resources – fresh waterDebt ~ Structural Adjustment Programs

Region At Risk: Sub-Saharan Africa

History of colonizationLack of infrastructure

Poor sanitation & High Fertility (birth rates)

Disease Pandemics such as HIV – high death rates

Urban Poverty ~ Cities1 billion people live in “slum-like” conditions in urban areas of the world (UN, 2010)People move to the cities in search of work, end up in ‘temporary housing’ that ends up being permanent for themIncredibly poor living conditions, breeding ground for disease like malaria, and incredibly prone to natural disastershttp://www.homeless-international.org/About-Slums

Favelas, Rio

MOVIES: BRASIL

City of God

GrandCentral Station

Shanty Towns, South Africa

Movies: District 9

Slums: Mumbai, Kolkata“amchi wasti”

Movies: Slumdog Millionaire

Sahakum, CambodiaMovies: The Killing Fields

Haiti: Recovery Not In Sight

Who’s Most Vulnerable?Women, Children, Elderly

Violence against women~ Gender Inequality

Ex. Dowries, Rape, Forced Marriage, Honour Killings

Disease transmission ~ forced sex, passed on through childbirth, breastfeedingChildren ~ malnutrition, lack of education because school costs money, water diseases, malaria, weak immune systems, no breast milkChildren ~ child labour exploitation, child soldiers

Disease and PandemicsHIV/AIDS ~ huge issue since 1980s

Massive spread in urban areas due to lack of education about transmissionLack of access to cheap drugs that can help deal with symptomsPopulation pyramid/demographics greatly affected because adults have died ~ grandparents forced to care for childrenChildren weak, can’t attend schoolLack of doctors to help identify and test victims

How do we break the cycle of poverty

1. Forgive foreign debt ~ no point collecting extremely high interest rates and then giving money in form of aid to nations….

Effects of Structural Adjustment Programs have been devastating

Solving PovertyREAL SolutionsR – Realistic solutions that are simple, and make sense to the local communities – ex. Bed nets for malariaE – Education: Health, literacy, trades, etcA – Alternatives: Micro-credit organizationsL – Regulations and laws surrounding resource use; lending to corrupt gov’ts; Debt Forgiveness of Highly Indebted Countries, Greater Foreign AidG ~ GRASSROOTS