Jessica's Essay

Challenges For The Future: Global Poverty

As a student in this contemporary era of globalisation an awareness of global issues is vital. While issues such as global warming and natural disasters, religious and cultural conflict, global health, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction are key issues in contemporary international relations, perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing humanity is that of global inequality. Inequality in the form of poverty has become global, and effects the security of people worldwide. This paper will briefly outline the types and causes, as well as the effects of global poverty at local, national and global scales. Secondly, this paper will discuss poverty as a result of globalisation, and finally the paper will discuss poverty eradication efforts.

Global poverty effects rich and poor nations, but perhaps more so those that are referred to as ‘developing’ or ‘least developed’ countries. The United Nations states that, ‘the least developed countries (LDCs) represent the poorest and weakest segment of the international community. The economic and social development of these countries represents a major challenge… Extreme poverty, the structural weakness of their economies and the lack of capacities related to growth and development, often compounded by geographical handicaps, hamper efforts by these countries to improve effectively the quality of life of their peoples’ (2001, p.3 cited on UNESCO 2006).

Approximately one third of the global population are living in extreme or moderate poverty (UNMP 2005, cited on NetAid.org 2006). People living in extreme poverty earn less than $1 a day, and can not afford basic necessities, such as food and water, that ensure survival (World Bank 2006 cited on NetAid.org 2006). Moderate poverty means that people are able to just barely meet their basic needs, but they must still miss out on several basic human rights – education and healthcare (World Bank 2006, cited on NetAid.org 2006).

Poverty in developing countries can be contributed to both internal and external factors, including a weak and ineffective government, over-population, poor education, mismanagement of the countries’ internal economy, and the position of the developing country in the external global economy (McMillen & Gehrmann 2006, p.3.2). Other major causes of global poverty have been listed as cultural and social discrimination, local or regional history, natural disasters, war, unjust trade laws, and foreign influence, control or actions (World Vision 2006).

Global poverty produces despair and frustration at local, national and global levels, leads to social instability, violent conflict, increased levels of organised crime (such as terrorism), and refugee crises (Simmons 1995, p.12 & p.31). Poverty also causes hunger and malnutrition, lack of safe drinking water, no shelter, and no access to education or health care. It is estimated that another person dies of starvation every 3.7 seconds and that six million children under the age of five die of malnutrition every year (UNMP 2005, cited on NetAid.org 2006). Global poverty is a major challenge to human security.

The contemporary process of globalisation has produced a ‘spill-over’ like effect from poverty-stricken areas in the global south to countries in the global north. It has been argued that globalisation has made the rich richer and the poor poorer. Globalisation has had a positive impact on poverty by making it a global issue of human security. The global scope of poverty means that any efforts to reduce or eradicate poverty will need to be on a global scale.

Global efforts to eradicate poverty and restore human security have been pursued through glocal governability or global governance – cooperation of state and non-state organisations to resolve a global problem (Baylis & Smith 2005, p.773). There are a number of state and non-state actors involved in the global ‘fight against poverty’. State organisations involved include several branches of the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Non-state actors include Oxfam International, Amnesty International, and World Vision. Individual states take part in the fight against poverty thorough programs of foreign aid.

Poverty eradication efforts have been undertaken in the form of ‘development policies’. The United Nations Millenium Development Goals aim to halve the levels of extreme poverty by the target date 2015. There are eight Millenium Development Goals, four of which are eradication of poverty and hunger, reduction of child mortality, improving material health, and combating HIVAIDS, Malaria, and other diseases (United Nations 2005). The other four Millenium Development Goals are to achieve universal primary education, ensure environmental sustainability, promote gender equality (and empower women), and to develop global development partnerships (United Nations 2005).

The recent process or event of globalisation has allowed for the issue of poverty to become a global issue. Global poverty is one of the greatest challenges to human security and humanity in the first half of the 21st century, and can only be reduced or eradicated if state and non-state actors work together to create global social and economic equality. Fighting and eradication of global poverty is one of the greatest challenges for the future.