Poverty is an epidemic that affects millions of people on our planet. Worldwide, 1.

4 billion
people suffer from extreme poverty and almost 900 million suffer from hunger, do not have
access to drinking water and other basic services such as health and education.

According to the United Nations, there are 836 million people still living in extreme poverty.
Men, women, boys and girls continue to suffer from hunger or malnutrition and live in
environments where exclusion and discrimination are protagonists. Don't you think it's time to
promote equality?

The goal of many organizations like Oxfam Intermón is to fight against poverty in the world.
However, to be able to remove it, you must first understand what its causes are and think
about the possible solutions to stop it at the root.

Causes of poverty in the world

Before explaining what are the causes of poverty in the world, it seems important that you
understand that it is not the same to speak of factor and cause. The causes are situations that
lead to the development of poverty, while a factor can maintain these conditions of poverty
for a long time since they do not allow a solution.

Different institutions have studied the causes of poverty. However, it must be borne in mind
that each territory and situation is different, so talking about general casuistry is more than
complex. Manos Unidas, Community Empowerment Group, World Poverty or EuroSur study
some of the causes of this situation in the world.

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In this way, the historical causes of poverty are considered to be colonialism, war, slavery and
invasions. That is to say, the situation of poverty that a part of the world population lives,
especially in the countries of the south, is a phenomenon that developed during different
periods of history.

We are going to study some of the factors that directly influence poverty and impede the
development of countries. Let's see them!
Multinational Commercial Model

The development of large corporations that use resources and cheap labor from countries at
risk of poverty is considered a risk factor, which does not contribute to their economy, but
impoverishes them even more. Many companies use workers from southern countries to
reduce costs and achieve a greater economic benefit, which directly influences the
development of the country.

Corruption

Prevents or reduces the allocation of resources to social services from which the population
would benefit. The resources destined to social aspects pass very often to private hands that
use them for their own benefit, which causes that there is no equitable distribution in society.

Climate change

Droughts are the most common cause of food shortages. More and more fertile lands suffer
from erosion, salinization and desertification. Deforestation at the hands of humans causes
accelerated erosion which makes food harvesting difficult.

Diseases and epidemics

Although it can also be considered a consequence of the low economic level of a society, a
sick population is less productive and therefore creates a greater impoverishment of its
members. In reality, this is a closed circle in which the lack of resources causes the lack of
medication and the disease does not allow a territory to develop economically. That is why it
is so important that first world countries worry about providing the necessary treatments to
those who need it most.

Inequalities in the distribution of resources

We speak in this case of capital, infrastructure or resources. Sometimes, not all members of
the society can use this type of resources equally, which can lead directly to a situation of
poverty.

Population growth
 In 2011 the world population was 7,000 million people. Now, the forecast is that by 2050 it
will increase to over 9,000 million, according to the UN Population Fund. This exponential
growth in the number of inhabitants of the planet will inevitably contribute to the increase in
situations of inequality if we do not take measures to curb the causes that cause poverty in the
world.

Armed conflicts

Wars force the population to move outside their place of residence or to live as refugees in
neighboring countries. They lose their home, their home, their work. They leave behind their
belongings to fight for the most precious life. The contest damages the infrastructures, limits
basic supplies such as water or prevents the cultivation of the fields, forcing them to carry out
rehabilitation or repair work and preventing them from harvesting, with the aggravating factor
of robbing people of their rights.

Gender discrimination

The lack of gender equality prevents the full participation of women in society, limits their
development opportunities or access to resources and perpetuates poverty. The gender gap in
education, salary or access to positions of responsibility, are examples of this inequality.

Food waste

We annually waste more than 1.3 billion tons of food worldwide, according to the European
Commission. FAO estimates that with a quarter of the food we miss, more than 800 million
hungry people could be fed.

Disinterest in developed countries for ending poverty

The NGO Manos Unidas notes that there is a certain indifference of developed countries when
it comes to tackling poverty, since their involvement is not as fast or diligent as it should be.