See all 3 projects in this cause
We perceive poverty as the situation where we cannot buy what we currently desire and what is unavailable to us at some point. But real poverty means a state in which a person cannot fulfill the basic conditions of a dignified life and satisfy the most basic human needs.
A brief history of poverty Poverty has been a constant reality throughout human history. Historically, income differences between people did not really exist. Until the 19th century, the standard of living only increased very slowly. Nevertheless, in 1820, almost 90 % of the population lived under conditions that today we would call extreme poverty.
Even though the number of extremely poor gradually decreased thanks to industrialization, society at that time did not really deal with this issue. Poverty was seen as the fault of poor people. It was only in 1901 that the British sociological researcher, social reformer and industrialist Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree (1871-1954) revealed in the book Poverty, A Study of Town Life that poverty in York (where he conducted the study) rather had structural reasons (low wages) than moral ones. But this was in direct contradiction to the traditionally held view that the poor were responsible for their own plight. He also came up with the first definition of poverty, distinguishing between primary poverty (where total earnings are insufficient to obtain the minimum needs to maintain physical performance) and secondary poverty (where earnings would be sufficient to live on, but part of it is absorbed by spending on alcohol or gambling). His work showed a new perspective on the issue of poverty in society and laid the foundations for the welfare state.
This work opened up a discussion about social issues and influenced the perception of social problems in society. For example, it influenced future Prime Ministers of Great Britain David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, among others.
The 20th century was affected by two world wars, a major economic crisis and other adverse events shaping economic growth and progress in society. Although these have always been very negative events, humanity has made progress worldwide, be it in terms of human life span, education or nutrition. Huge progress has therefore also been made in the battle against poverty. Back in 1910, 74 % of the world's population still lived in extreme poverty, while in 1999 the number of extremely poor fell to 28.63 %.
In the new millennium, the trend of reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty continued, and in 2020 this number even dropped to 9.2 %. In two centuries of the struggle against poverty, this is an incredible result. Unfortunately, these figures only refer to extreme poverty and do not mean that 90 % of the population lives in prosperity and in above-average standards.
How is poverty measured? More than 60 years passed since the surveys done by Seebohm Rowntree at the beginning of the 20th century until Mollie Orshansky developed the poverty thresholds in 1963 - 1964. When President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the War on Poverty in 1964, these results of poverty research were used, and are still used, in a modified form, as threshold values in determining poverty.
The international poverty line was originally set at about $1 / person per day. In the 2008 update, the poverty line was moved to $1.25 / person per day, and in 2015, the value was updated to $1.90 / person per day – which is the current state. This shows the level of extreme poverty and helps to compare the level of poverty in individual countries. Even in international comparison of the poverty line, it was necessary to take into account the level of income. Therefore, the World Bank* came up with two more values, namely $3.20 / person per day for people with lower middle incomes and $5.50 / person per day for people with higher middle incomes.
However, the poverty thresholds are not logically the same in all countries. Of course, the poverty line is higher in countries with a higher cost of living.
*The World Bank is an institution that was founded in 1944 and its goal was the reconstruction of war-torn Europe and Japan. Currently, it is among the largest providers of development aid, with the aim of reducing poverty and improving living conditions around the world.
There are a number of other metrics that deal with income and wealth inequality. These include, for example, the Theil index and Gini coefficient.
Types of poverty The media image of poverty brings us mainly to developing countries. Of course, this is true, but at the same time it does not mean that the poor are not close to you. Poverty is associated with:
If you think about it, we probably have all encountered some form of poverty.
Extreme poverty is sometimes also called absolute poverty. This is a state where an individual must survive on less than $1.90 per day. It is characterized by a complete lack of the fulfillment of basic human needs, such as water, food, clothing or housing. This kind of poverty is not thousands of kilometers away from your homes. For example, the unavailability of healthcare for the needy or the homeless also falls into this area.
Relative poverty is not an objective measure that can be used worldwide. It is used, for example, in rich countries and tends to be the most accurate metric for determining the level of poverty in a society. It is defined by the social context and by living at or below 50 % of the average wage. These people may have food on the table, but they live paycheck to paycheck.
Situational poverty is something surely everyone has experienced. This is economic instability caused by job loss, serious and long-term health problems or divorce. This may be a shorter period of time for an individual or family to live paycheck to paycheck, but it can improve with a new job, recovery, or overall improvement. In any case, from this situation, one can easily fall into extreme poverty, for example, in the form of homelessness.
Generational poverty means a condition when more than two generations live in poverty. If someone grows up in poverty, they usually have different thought processes than if they grow up, for example, in the sufficiency of the middle class. This can form a cycle from which it is not easy to escape, nor to change the mindset to achieve a higher level of social stability.
Urban and rural poverty is more concerned about comparing standards and possibilities in individual areas. We can compare, for example, the availability of high-speed Internet connection in remote rural areas, where, in the case of lockdowns, it can complicate the distance-learning of children. In the case of urban areas, it can be a question of affordable housing and overall environmental overcrowding.
“Where you live should not determine whether you live, or whether you die.” - Bono (singer and philanthropist)
Who is most often at risk of poverty? It is not possible to state in general who or which social group is most at risk of poverty. However, to generalize, more prone to poverty are:
Death is an integral part of life. If an old person dies, it is possible to accept this, but what if people die needlessly? What if only a little is required to save these lives? Poverty – the silent killer – is behind almost one-third of deaths worldwide (about 18 million people per year). Poverty causes many problems, hardships and lack in all aspects of the quality of life. The consequences of poverty can become the very cause of poverty.
Hunger As the cost of living rises, the number of things people can afford to buy decreases. However, food is one of the items that the poor spend more money on than the rich. The rise in food prices puts people at existential risk, and even a small difference in prices can mean an empty plate and hunger. At least 14 million children worldwide suffer from severe acute malnutrition. It is the direct cause of death of 2 million children every year. Poor nutrition also results in poor childhood development and physical or mental consequences.
Health For poor people, access to healthcare is difficult and virtually unaffordable. Thus, with poverty comes deteriorating health among adults. This of course affects the youngest the most. In sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, maternal mortality during childbirth is as high as 90 %, and, in 2020, for example, more than 5 million children under the age of 5 years, including 2.4 million newborn, died due to poor conditions, along with 2.2 million children and youth aged 5 to 24 years (43% of them being juveniles). However, health consequences of poverty are felt by all generations. From common problems, such as colds, diarrhea, through problems of the locomotor system, vision and teeth, to HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases, malaria, tuberculosis and others. Living in poverty also results in a greatly shortened lifespan. It is common for people to die before reaching the age of 40.
Housing Poverty is the most common cause of homelessness. Due to this, slums are increasingly being created. In 2020, more than 1.05 billion people lived in slums worldwide. The urban population living in slums has been steadily increasing since 1990. It has increased by approximately 45 million in the last 10 years alone. The problem with such housing is usually the absence of access to water, waste disposal and electricity. If there are any utility networks in place, they are insufficient or in very poor condition. This very poor state of housing obviously has a negative effect on health. Diseases spread rapidly due to poor hygiene conditions. Inadequate living conditions take a toll, not only on health but also on the mental state. Areas where poor people are concentrated create excluded communities, which automatically lead to exclusion from society. All of this widens the gap between those living in poverty and makes it harder for them to integrate into society and to break the cycle of poverty.
Education Poverty also determines the availability and quality of education. Wealthy areas tend to offer more educational opportunities, with the quality of schools being higher too. In poorer areas, education is either not available at all or is at a low level. The overall approach of families to home education has a big impact. Richer families, where parents tend to be more educated, lead their children to study more consistently. Poorer families often lack even the basic equipment necessary for learning. These children have up to 10 times less chance of completing secondary education. Inadequate education is most evident among girls, who are forced to get involved earlier in household work. If they attend school, they do so for only a short time. For example, 16 million girls have never set foot in a classroom. Women make up two-thirds of the 750 million adults without basic literacy skills. However, education is one of the best options for breaking out of the cycle of poverty.
Child marriages The practice of child marriage is a huge obstacle to social and economic development. Girls do not have the opportunity to complete their school education, and, after marriage, only have responsibilities related to the family. Even if such a girl can find a job in the future, she will have a hard time, due to her poor education. If she does find a job, it will only be poorly paid. The next generation of children will then have to leave school earlier to contribute to the economic support of the family, with girls once again getting married as children. And the circle closes. About 650 million girls worldwide were married as children.
Child labor and other risks Children from poor families more often do not complete even basic schooling and have to be involved in earning money for the family budget. An estimated 160 million children were involved in child labor worldwide at the beginning of 2020 (63 million girls and 97 million boys), representing almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide. As the level of poverty increases, so does the likelihood that children will become victims of violence.
Criminality Poor people are often forced to take more risks for their survival than if they had a secure background and a stable income. Many women from poor and excluded areas become victims of human trafficking and are forced into prostitution. As poverty increases, so does the risk of murder and theft. In any case, the fact that a person is poor does not put him or her in the position of a criminal (despite prejudices).
Endangerment of Nature Poor people can use natural resources more. This in itself would not be such a problem, but in Africa or Asia, for example, this problem is associated with poaching. For poor locals, trading in bushmeat (the meat of wild animals), and also in ivory, rhinoceros horns, young rare animals or plants, can be significant, and often the only source of income. However, this can be devastating for fragile populations of critically endangered animals in some localities. On the other hand, for example, in a 2015 study, 96 % of villagers in Tanzania said they would stop poaching, if they could obtain sufficient income from other means.
Global poverty is one of the most serious problems, and therefore became the first point in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the United Nations under the title: No Poverty. These goals were set in 2015 and all member states are committed to achieving them by 2030.
Goal 1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere has 7 targets:
The ratio between aid, motivation and sustainability is crucial in the fight against poverty. In general, a financial gift alone is not enough. The concept of solutions and the support of long-term projects are important as an effective way of helping.
Education of children Education is the best investment in the fight against poverty, in sustainable development and in aid in any region of the world. There is a huge space in education and the potential for change in the education of girls. Even the most basic education such as reading, writing and arithmetic can break the cycle of poverty.
Securing clean water What we take for granted in most corners of our planet, people in the poorest parts of the world can only dream about. A safe source of water close to homes protects people from disease and gives children, who are mostly responsible for procuring water for the home (and therefore unable to go to school), more time to learn.
Basic healthcare According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 100 million people fall into poverty each year due to high healthcare costs. To achieve poverty reduction, medical care should be available where families need it. This should ideally be in the form of disease prevention, but of course also as treatment and rehabilitation.
Empowerment of women and girls Women and girls around the world face discrimination and are limited in options and opportunities. According to the UN, only about 50 % of women are in the labor market. Equal conditions benefit entire communities. On the one hand, such women become role models and the probability that they will motivate their children to education also increases. This step can lift entire communities out of the cycle of poverty.
Ending child marriages Child marriage is a direct route into the cycle of poverty. Girls do not even complete primary education and, soon after marriage, have children of their own. However, with poor education, they can only find poorly paid employment, so their children finish school earlier and are forced into marriage. Thus the cycle of poverty continues. It is necessary to systematically end child marriages.
Improving children’s nutrition Quality nutrition is key to the proper and healthy growth of children. The lack of quality and varied food is reflected in almost all aspects – social, economic and, of course, serious health problems. For example, diseases caused by a lack of iron, zinc, iodine and vitamins can easily be solved by providing micronutrients – with an exceptionally high benefit-to-cost ratio.
Support ecological programs to end poverty At present, the influence of climate on people’s poverty can be increasingly felt. 75 % of the world's poor rely on natural resources (forests, rivers, lakes or oceans) for their survival. However, climate change threatens these resources. It is therefore important to introduce ecological thinking and principles even to the poorest places on our planet. For example, to encourage better understanding of the functioning of biodiversity and the connection between deforestation and local flooding.