[dropcap]The[/dropcap] devastating effect of war is enormous. It has ruined empires and caused havoc to families. Richard Smalley indentified war as the sixth (of ten) biggest problems facing humanity for the next fifty years. And poverty, just like war has been a chronic epidemic that is thriving and seems to be invincible.
Poverty is the state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence. In my own estimation poverty, kills people faster than lightening. In Africa, some parts of Asia and Latin America, lots of people cannot afford three squares a meal daily. In sharp contrast, millions of people in developed countries throw tonnes of food away daily. The multifaceted concept of inequality contributes largely to the dimensions of poverty. The statistics below supply extra of information about the extremity of poverty and the gloomy snapshot it portrays in sub-Saharan Africa.
· More people in Sub-Saharan African live in a state of extreme poverty than before, according to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals report.
· The number of poor people increased to 414 million in 2010 from 290 million in 1990.
· The number of undernourished children below the age of five has risen to 58 million from 44 million.
· Four out of five deaths of children under the age of five continue to occur.
The World Bank also underlines some factors which encompasses poverty. This was based on research with over 20,000 poor people in 23 countries.
· Abuse by those in power
· Dis-empowering institutions
· Excluded locations
· Gender relationships
· Lack of security
· Precarious livelihoods
· Problems in social relationships
· Problems in social relationships
· Weak community organizations
The standard of living in most African states has risen and the gap between the rich and poor keeps on widening at an outrageous rate. Access to basic human needs like food, water, sanitation, clothing shelter healthcare and education has been a mirage of many, hence their classification as being poor. If the rich will shun superfluity and extend a helping hand to the poor, it will go a long way in fighting poverty. In tackling poverty and ensuring the beam balance of poverty and wealth remains equal and stable, the following strategies can be adopted and implemented: reversing brain drain, controlling overpopulation, increasing personal income and ensuring economic freedom. This can go a long way to help make this world a better place. Micheal Jackson sums it eloquently in his heal the world song:
Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me