Poverty is one of the many challenges facing society. Especially in recent years, with the increasingly serious problem of poverty, the international community have paid more attention to the assistance to poor countries and poor people, and continues to make various efforts to eliminate and alleviate poverty. Considering that some poeple might will have problems such as "What is poverty?", "Which country is the poorest in the world?", and "What can we do for the poor?", etc. Therefore, as an introductory article, this article will explain the basic knowledge of poverty in a simple and understandable way.
CONTENTS
・Poverty
1. Definition of Poverty
2. Types of Poverty
“Absolute Poverty”
“Relative Poverty”
“Child Poverty”
3. Standards and Indicators for Measuring Poverty
・SDGs Goal 1: What is “No Poverty”?
・Why Does Poverty Occur?
・What Can We Do?
・Summary
・Poverty
1. Definition of Poverty:
When asked “what is poverty?”. Poeple often unconsciously answer, “No Money”. But in fact, poverty has many definitions besides “No Money”.
First,
Definition 1
Poverty is defined as “the lack of access to the most basic needs and services such as education, work, food, health care, clean water, housing and energy, etc.” (United Nations Development Programmer, UNDP)
Definition 2
Poverty is defined as “people living on less than US $1.90 a day (International Poverty Line)”. (World Bank)
The above are the two most common definitions of poverty.
To put it simply, poverty is defined not only in terms of food, clothing and housing (basic necessities), but also in terms of whether people can receive education, go to the hospital for treatment when they are sick, and live a healthy life.
2. Types of Poverty
We have heard the terms “Absolute Poverty”, “Relative Poverty” and “Child Poverty” many times, but do we really understand its definitions?
The following is a brief introduction to the types of poverty.
“Absolute Poverty” means
・The level of poverty poses a serious threat to livelihoods, and it also refers to the state of being unable to meet the minimum living requirements of food, clothing and shelter. (Quoted from the Cabinet Office, “Thinking about child poverty”)
・The World Bank also defines absolute poverty as poeple living on less than $1.90 a day.
・Examples: Homeless children, starving children, street children, etc.
・Countries in absolute poverty: Most of the cases occur in developing countries (※ 1)
・Ranking of “absolute poverty” countries:
According to the latest data (World Bank blog, 2019), 736 million people live in extreme poverty, of which about half (368 million) are distributed in five countries (in descending order) India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. In addition, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are also the poorest regions, accounting for 85% of the world’s poor (629 million people).
・People living in absolute poverty have a high risk of losing their lives, and their dignity is often trampled upon in daily life.
“Relative Poverty” means
・It refers to the state that most people in a country/ society/ region, cannot enjoy the “ordinary life”. (Quoted from the Cabinet Office, “Thinking about child poverty”)
In other words, people whose income is lower than half of the national median income (the income is lower than the income of most people living in a country, society, region, etc.) are equivalent to relative poverty.
・Examples: According to the data of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the median annual income of Japan in 2021 is about 4.27 million Yen. In other words, an annual income of less than 2.14 million Yen is equivalent to relative poverty.
・Countries in relative poverty: Including Japan, it often occurs in developed countries.
・Ranking of “relative poverty” countries (2019):
Top 1: South Africa (27.70%)
Top 2: Brazil (21.50%)
Top 3: Costa Rica (19.90%)
Top 4: United States (18.00%)
Top 5: Bulgaria (17.60%)
Incidentally, Japan’s relative poverty rate is 15.70%, ranking the top 12.
(*The above ranking is based on the data from 2014 to 2019)
・People living in relative poverty face a gap in opportunities from birth (such as access to health care and education) and live in an unfair society (different starting lines in competition).
“Child Poverty” means
・Child poverty refers to “the deprivation poor children (0-17 years old) of their material, mental and emotional resources” (UNICEF).
・Example: Non implementation of rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
・According to the UNICEF, 356 million (1 in every 7) children live in extreme poverty, and about 1 billion children suffer from Multidimensional Poverty (such as lack of access to education and health care).
・In Japan, an initiative called “Kodomo Shokudou” (※ 2) has been popularized in recent years.
Click here to learn more about Child Poverty
There are also transient poverty (poverty caused by natural disasters or seasons) and chronic poverty (structural or long-term poverty).
3. Standards and Indicators for Measuring Poverty
Next, let’s look at the criteria and indicators for measuring poverty.
・Non-Income Standard (International Labour Organization, ILO): Basic Human Needs
=The criteria “include not only food, clothing and shelter needs, but also living conditions, such as access to safe drinking water and sanitation, health care, education and employment“.
・Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI): Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
=This is an attempth to grasp the poverty situation not only in terms of money, but also in terms of health, education and living standards.
・UNDP: Human Development Index
=The poverty rate is calculated from three indicators.
- Longevity and healthy life
- Knowledge rate (literacy rate and education gross enrollment rate)
- Human life
In short, the poverty rate is measured by factors other than income.
・Three standards endorsed by the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP):
(1) The average per capita Gross National Income (GNI) (※ 3) for three years must be US $1018 or less;
(2) Human Asset Index (HAI) based on health and adult literacy rate is lower than a certain value;
(3) The Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) based on factors such as economic stability must be lower than a certain value.
The Least Developed Countries (LDC) that meet these three criteria are considered the poorest countries.
As of August 2021, 46 countries have been recognized.
(*LDC list is reviewed every 3 years)
This set of criteria and indicators will enable the international community to better understand the poverty situation of countries without neglecting anyone, regardless of gender or age.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization that publishes the economic strength data of member countries (190 countires). It can be used to understand the latest economic conditions of countries and regions.
SDGs Goal 1: What is “No Poverty”?
The international community has also adopted various assistance activities, programmers and policies to solve and eradicate poverty.
Example: SDGs Goal 1: No Poverty
“End Poverty In All Its Forms Everywhere”
Goal 1 is a set of goals and policies aimed at improving and supporting the lives of the poor.
Goal 1 has 7 targets.
Why Does Poverty Occur?
Poverty is mainly caused by war/conflict and natural disasters.
War/Conflict
It has dealt a devastating blow to the subsistence economy, politics, society,agriculture and animal husbandry. Furthermore, the residents have been forced to become refugees and live in poverty.
Natural Disasters
People in countries with frequent natural disasters such as drought, floods, earthquakes and severe winters are affected by the disaster, making their livelihood more difficult and more people in need of assistance.
What Can We Do?
The poor people:
・Live without their homes, families or jobs;
・Living with food shortages, malnutrition and denial of educational opportunities (especially for children) and limited access to safe water;
・Leading to an increase in child labor, child marriage and other cases;
・Can’t go to the hospital even if they are sick;
・Live a life that damages their physical and mental health
What we can do to lift them out of poverty is
donation, volunteers, information dissemination and outreach activities
,etc.
Moreover, the key to poverty eradication is:
① Temporary food and livelihood assistance (enabling the poor to live a basic life);
② Support activities for vocational training (enabling poor poeple to live independently).
Thus, isn’t it important to support international aid organizations that address poverty?
Below are the introduce of the organizations dedicated to poverty eradication.
There are also many other non-governmental organizations providing emergency humanitarian assistance.
Summary
This article briefly explains the basic knowledge about poverty that the author wants you to know.
Today’s society is caught in a vicious circle of “poverty breeds poverty”. In order to get rid of this vicious circle, everyone’s cooperation and interests will be the trigger, so please give a hand to help to solve the poverty problem.
Keyword Check:
(※ 1) Developing Countries: The general term for “developing countries” and “least developed countries”.
Among the “developing countries”, the underdeveloped countries are called the “least developed countries” (LDC) and also referred to as the poorest countries.
(※ 2) “Kodomo Shokudou”: A support activity that provides free or inexpensive nutritious meals for the poor.
(※ 3) Gross National Income (GNI): Refers to “the total domestic and foreign income earned by residents in a year”.