RESOURCES & NEEDS

Why is poverty still enveloping major parts of the globe today?

Rather -- What is extreme poverty?

What is extreme poverty? Life is multidimensional, and so is extreme poverty. Extreme poverty exists when a person is denied the opportunity to lead a long, healthy and productive life.

Extreme poverty is about a lack of opportunities. People living in extreme poverty cannot achieve their full potential because they lack things that most of us take for granted. These include safe child delivery, vaccination, health care, a caring family, education, and the ability to find a good job.

Money by itself cannot get rid of poverty. The richest landlord in a mountain village in South America may be quite helpless if there are no health services available in the village. And girls and women in some parts of the world are denied the opportunity to attend school regardless of whether their families are rich or poor.

Why do people remain poor?

Much progress has been made in recent years, but much more needs to be done. To be successful in the long run, poverty alleviation efforts must address the roots of poverty, and not just immediate needs. People remain poor when they are denied access to basic opportunities for human development. A man who suffers from chronic disease, such as diarrhea from unclean water, cannot reach his potential. Nor can a young girl who is unable to go to school because of chores, or who attends a school where the teacher shows up only twice a week and there are no textbooks.

The reasons behind this lack of opportunities are not always simple. They can be linked to any number of factors, from geographic isolation to ignorance of the causes of disease. But one thing is certain: no one wants to be sick, poor or uneducated. The problem lies not with the poor themselves, but with their lack of opportunities.

Tragically, extreme poverty is too often passed from one generation to the next. In many poor communities, schools are overcrowded and teachers are underqualified or even illiterate. If children in these schools are not learning, their parents might pull them out of school to work instead, drastically reducing their opportunities later in life. In doing so, they are likely reproducing the cycle of poverty for at least another generation.

What needs to be done?

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Check out some RESOURCES to fight against POVERTY

What needs to be done?

Efforts must be made to work with people, governments, development agencies and world leaders to raise awareness of the roots of extreme poverty and to help expand opportunities for the poor. If a variety of factors contributes to the persistence of extreme poverty, then a variety of actions is needed to break the cycle. These actions include: Expanding access to health education and care so that people do not die of easily preventable diseases;

SG.TWIGS has a partnership with ANGAT BUHAY through our ANGAT MASA Program for one.

Making education and adequate nutrition a priority so that children can grow up to lead healthy and productive lives;

Providing skills training and support for small entrepreneurs to increase opportunities for employment and income generation;

Protecting the environment, to ensure that natural resources are conserved and renewed for future generations;

Addressing gender inequality, to increase opportunities for women and to ensure that they have a say in decisions that affect the lives of themselves and their children;

Strengthening the role and capacity of local organizations, to make communities more self-sufficient; and

Improving the situation of the most vulnerable members of society, including children, women, ethnic minorities, families affected by HIV/AIDS, street children, and the disabled.

How can I learn more?
To learn more about extreme poverty and what needs to be done, please visit the following sites:

* Become a Netaid.org member.
* Stay informed about Netaid.org programs and opportunities for getting involved.
* Learn about the issues. Inform yourself and others about the challenges facing the poor and what you can do to help.
* United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report 2000. A wealth of information and statistics on human development and extreme poverty around the world.
* United Nations Development Program's report on poverty.
* The World Bank on poverty.
* Articles and essays on poverty.

Visit UNV NetAid site:
www.netaid.org