Includes hunger, sickness, homelessness, debt, economic migrants, lack of birth registration

Poverty cannot be overestimated as a link within all other areas of risk. The symptoms of poverty currently lead to one death every 3 seconds worldwide. Poverty affects every area of life and is found on every continent.

Food, healthcare, adequate shelter, schooling, and a promising future are all out of reach for those living in poverty. Without the ability to access these basic necessities the cycle of poverty continues.

Hunger

• 854 million people across the world are hungry ¹
• Almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes every day ²

Scotland's The Sunday Herald deemed 2008 "The Year of Global Food Crisis" ³. For the first time in history, the impact of hunger is spreading from the developing world to the developed world. High prices and food scarcity are beginning to affect everyone, not just the poor who previously were unable to purchase food and required aid. The World Bank predicts global demand for food will double by 2030.

Sickness

"The biggest enemy of health in the developing world is poverty." Kofi Annan

It is more than the inability to afford healthcare that links poverty and illness. "Poverty creates ill-health because it forces people to live in environments that make them sick, without decent shelter, clean water or adequate sanitation. Poverty creates hunger, which in turn leaves people vulnerable to disease. Poverty denies people access to reliable health services and affordable medicines, and causes children to miss out on routine vaccinations. Poverty creates illiteracy, leaving people poorly informed of health risks and forced into dangerous jobs that harm their health." ⁴

Debt

"Poverty means working for more than 18 hours a day, but still not earning enough to feed myself, my husband and two children." A Cambodian Woman

Many individuals in impoverished nations accrue debt when they are unable to pay for the sudden cost of an unexpected expense, like a doctor's visit. They are then forced to borrow the money from a lender, who could take advantage of their lack of education and charge high interest rates, forcing the entire family into bonded slavery until the debt is paid, which could be a lifetime of work.

On a wider scale, many countries are dealing with nationwide debt that hinders them from using funds to provide for the people. Instead of pouring funds into healthcare or education, they are forced into paying off debts to creditors or other countries. Some progress is being made as wealthy nations actually cancel the debt owed to them by the impoverished countries, freeing up those funds. The United Kingdom, for example, has led the way by canceling 100% of the debt owed to them by the world's poorest countries. ⁵

Economic Migrants

In many countries, even the skilled workers don't have opportunity to make a living and provide for their family. When these workers move to another country primarily to make a sustainable income, they become economic migrants. ⁶

Economic migrants are similar to refugees with one very distinct difference.  According to a BBC article dated 5 April 2004 states   ". . . Economic migrants, choose to move in order to improve the future prospects of themselves and their families. Refugees have to move . . . to save their lives and preserve their freedom." (emphasis mine) ⁷ 

Recommended for more information

End Poverty www.endpoverty2015.org/

United Nations Development Program www.undp.org/poverty

http://www.poverty.com/

World Bank www.worldbank.org/poverty
 

1 State of Food Insecurity in the World 2006.  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006

2 Black, Robert, Morris, Saul, & Jennifer Bryce. "Where and Why Are 10 Million Children Dying Every Year?" The Lancet 361:2226-2234. 2003.

3 Smith, Kate, Edwards, Rob. "2008: the year of global food crisis." 30 June 2008 http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2104849.0.2008_the_year_of_global_food_crisis.php

4 Dying for Change. Publication of the World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/hdp/publications/dying_change.pdf Retrieved 30 June 2008

5 Drop the Debt, www.makepovertyhistory.org/whatwewant/debt.shtml Retrieved 01 July 08.

6 Economic Refugee, www.inveropedia.com/terms/e/economicrefugee.asp. Retrieved 01 July 08.

7 Lubbers, Ruud. Refugees and migrants: Defining the difference. News.bc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/3516112.stm. Retrieved  01 July 2008.