Year 

for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. 

POVERTY

Although poverty is more severe in developing countries find it is a reality that exists around the world. In the developed
countries is manifested in the existence of homelessness and slums. 

Poverty can be absolute or relative. The absolute refers to a level that is consistent over time and between countries. An
example of an indicator of absolute poverty is the percentage of people with a daily intake of calories less than the
minimum (approximately 2000/2500 kilocalories). 

The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than $ 1 a day (PPP) and moderate poverty as living with
between 1 and $ 2 per day. An estimated 1 billion and 100 million people worldwide have consumption levels below $ 1 a
day and 2 billion and 700 million have a level of less than $ 2. 

• Every year about 18 million people (50,000 per day) die from poverty-related reasons, mostly women and children. 
• Every year about 11 million children die before reaching 5 years. 
• 1 billion and 100 million people, about one sixth of humanity lives on less than $ 1 per day. 
• Over 800 million people are undernourished. 

CAUSES OF POVERTY

Poverty does not result from a single cause, but a number of factors: 

• political and legal factors: corruption, failure or malfunction of a democratic system, poor equal opportunities. 
• Economic factors: inadequate tax system, an excessive burden on the economy or being socially unjust poverty itself,
which undermines investment and development, economy dependent on a single product. 
• Socio-cultural factors: low education, social discrimination on gender or race, prevailing values in society, social
exclusion, very rapid population growth. 
• Natural factors: natural disasters, extreme weather or reliefs, disease. 
• Health problems: drug addiction or alcoholism, mental diseases, diseases of poverty such as AIDS and malaria;
disabilities. 
• Historical factors: colonialism, history of political authoritarianism. 
• Insecurity: war, genocide, crime. 

CONSEQUENCES OF POVERTY

Many of the consequences of poverty are also causes of it creating the cycle of poverty. 

• Hunger. 
• Low life expectancy. 
• Diseases. 
• Lack of employment opportunities. 
• Lack of safe water and sanitation. 
• Increased risks of political instability and violence. 
• Emigration. 
• Existence of social discrimination against vulnerable groups. 
• Existence of homeless people. 
• Depression. 

ELIMINATION OF POVERTY

The reduction of extreme poverty and hunger are a target of the millennium. In addition to broader approaches, the Sachs
report (of the UN Millennium Project) proposes a series of quick win interventions identified by development experts,
which cost just reactively but have a major impact on poverty reduction, eg : 

• Eliminate school fees. 

• Provide fertilizer to poor farmers. 
• Provide free school meals. 
• Promote breastfeeding of children. 
• worming children. 
• Train local public health technicians. 
• Provide mosquito nets. 
• Eliminate taxes for health care in developing countries. 
• Access to information on sexual and reproductive health. 
• Access to medicines for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. 
• Investing in deprived-of-tin and provide land for public housing. 
• Access to safe water, sanitation and electricity. 
• Legislation on women's rights, including the right to property. 
• Action against domestic violence. 
• Submit scientific advisers to governments. 

According to the Borgen Project the annual cost of eliminating hunger is 19 billion dollars. By comparison, the U.S.
government spends 420 billion on defense. 

In his book "The End of Poverty, economist Jeffrey Sachs of world renown, without embarking on radical ideologies,
presents a lucid plan to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide by 2025. Following his doctrine, international organizations
are working with the goal of eliminating poverty by working with governments and other partners using interventions in the
areas of housing, food, education, healthcare, agriculture, drinking water, transport and communications. 

"The European number that serves as a reference for defining poverty is equivalent to a minimum monthly salary of 406
euros per month. Anyone who has an income of less than 406 euros is poor, "said Agostinho Jardim Moreira, president of
the European Anti Poverty Network (REAP). 
The same institution highlights the inequality in the distribution of income as a major problem: "A 20% of the population
with higher income received approximately 6.1 times the yield of 20% of the population with lower income." 

By: Chiara.