Most of the world’s population lives in poverty. Nearly half of the global population (3.4 billion) are living on less than $5.50 a day with no significant changes to this number since 1990 despite “No Poverty” being Sustainable Development Goal 1 as established by the UN in 2015. Poverty disproportionately impacts those in developing countries and affects minorities, women, and children far more direly. It is extremely evident that Poverty as a whole is a critical issue, especially in a post-pandemic economy.
While Poverty is defined as the lack of essential financial resources to maintain a certain standard of living, it can be separated into two further types: absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is when people do not have access to basic human needs such as food, water, shelter, healthcare, sanitation, and education. It is when people live below the poverty line which is $1.90/day as set by the World Bank. This threshold is not considered by every country, however, and many nations have their own thresholds for determining what the poverty line in their country looks like. There are other methods of measuring absolute poverty that does not include a set value that people in a country need to spend under. For example, it can be defined as receiving less than 80% of minimum caloric intake whilst spending more than 80% of income on food as well.
Relative poverty is less extreme and is a greater measure for determining poverty in developed countries since they have lower levels of absolute poverty. It is defined as not having the income necessary to maintain the average standard of living in a country. Substance abuse is a huge factor in secondary poverty. This form of poverty occurs when people earn sufficient income but spend it on substances (alcohol, tobacco, drugs) which in practice places them in poverty. This means that people spend a larger percentage of their income on substances than they do on education for example. This, along with factors such as gender, disabilities, race and ethnicity can make it harder to break out of the cycle of poverty in the long run.
Hunger is a direct result of poverty. Hunger is defined as the period when people experience severe food insecurity—meaning that they go entire days without eating due to lack of money, access to food, or other resources. With factors like the global pandemic, climate change, and conflicts, world hunger is once again increasing after declining for nearly a decade. Hunger disproportionately affects developing countries where extreme poverty and lack of access to nutritious food lead to malnutrition. In India, over 33 lakh children are malnutrition, with the country ranking 107 out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022. Furthermore, India has the highest child-wasting rate in the world at 19.3%.
Malnutrition means that people are likely to remain in the cycle of poverty because they’re more prone to diseases and thus are less productive and unable to improve their standard of living. Without intervention, hunger can lead to limited mental, physical, and emotional growth and development, even leading to death.
Organisations like Action Against Hunger help immensely with providing access to resources (clean water, nutritious food, healthcare) to over 26 million people every year. There is no one solution to world hunger. Several actions and initiatives are required. These can look like-
Reducing food waste, on an individual as well as industrial level
Food donation drives that bring food directly to those in need
Governments actively working towards reducing extreme poverty in their countries as well as looking towards sustainable agricultural practices for the long run.
Here are some links to start you up on your journey to bring upliftment in the lives of those facing hunger and poverty:
Helpline Number 1800-180-1253.
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