Poverty is a threat by which everyone can be affected, race, age, and current economic situation notwithstanding. No matter how much money one might own, there is always a threat that this money will somehow disappear for a specific reason. Although people that have been conditioned for social and economic success do, indeed, have more chances to avoid poverty, the latter remains a weirdly egalitarian phenomenon, which sweeps any race, ethnicity, or sex. At the same time, it is vital to remember that certain populations are at especially high risk of being stricken by poverty, which is why paying particular attention to them when shaping current global policies for affecting global poverty and taking other relevant actions is needed. By introducing a complex perspective on the issue of global poverty, namely, incorporating economic, social, cultural, and environmental factors into the analysis, assessment, and management of global poverty, including both macro- and micro-actors, one will be able to affect the current poverty rates.
Delving into the issue of global poverty as a historical concern, one must admit that the phenomenon under analysis has always been in existence. While the exposure to poverty has varied across history, with different populations being exposed to it depending on the time period, the social hierarchy, and other contextual factors, poverty has always been present (Buheji et al. 215). While global inequality has always existed, often leading to a drop in the levels of financial resource availability, the instances of extreme poverty should still be considered abnormal. Implying the presence of poverty that suggests the complete absence of vital resources and, therefore, increased mortality rates, extreme poverty is typically attributed to the absences of educational and employment resources, the lack of basic resources such as food and clean water, and the related concerns (Buheji et al. 217). Therefore, the problem of extreme poverty is tied intrinsically and inseparably not only to the socioeconomic and sociopolitical contexts, but also to the environmental factors.
Overall, the problem of global poverty has been induced by a range of issues, yet some of them, have been significantly more prominent than others. For example, the propensity toward marginalization of specific groups, as well as the increasing propensity toward inequality, can be seen as the essential contributors to global poverty (Li et al. 1162). For example, the countries with severe sociopolitical conflicts within them have shown significantly higher poverty rates on a global scale (Li et al. 1164). Likewise, the lack of essential infrastructure within a country, along with other economic concerns, including the failure to support local businesses or build a rapport with international companies, have led to global poverty development, when amassed (Li et al. 1165). Remarkably, even though the development of major international conflicts that have caused global poverty to soar, has been encouraged by multiple historical personalities, it is quite difficult to pinpoint the problem of global poverty on specific people. Arguably, one could claim that global poverty could be blamed on the older generations, who used resources unwisely, thus, causing them to deplete (Li et al. 1165). However, there are no specific people or groups that can be deemed responsible for global poverty.
Considering the issue of global poverty closer one will have to admit that, despite significant changes in the factors affecting its development, the levels of global poverty have remained largely the same. Specifically, with the rise in the globalization rates, the opportunities for creating a global outreach for impoverished communities and managing the problem on an international level has emerged (Buheji et al. 215). Indeed, t the credit of global organizations such as the UN, the problem of global poverty has been recognized and respective tools and strategies have been designed (Buheji et al. 215). However, with the increase in international collaboration, challenges within the labor market, particularly, the increase in the extent of competition and the need to update the current skillset regularly, have surfaced (Buheji et al. 218). As a result, while essential tools for containing the global poverty levels have been introduced, adverse factors still prevail, causing the problem of global poverty to spread.
The phenomenon of global poverty might seem as far too broad or nebulous an issue to be concerned about, yet the further assessment of the current situation with global poverty rates proves the necessity to act immediately. Specifically, the present statistical data on global poverty indicates that around 9.2% of the world population live in extreme poverty, meaning that these people are deprived of vital resources needed to sustain their lives (Newhouse et al. 3). Therefore, there is a strong need to introduce an immediate action to improve the quality of the target populations’ lives and minimize the extent of their suffering.
Admittedly, the rates of global poverty have been minimized significantly due to the concerted effort of global organizations, primarily, the UN, affecting an increasingly large number of vulnerable groups. For instance, compared to previous decades, the percentage of people living in the conditions that could be described as extreme poverty has dropped from 1.9 billion (the 1990s) to 0.74% (2015) (Casey and Stazen 2). The described outcome can be attributed to the focus on the management of the issues associated with a multifaceted approach to global poverty. For instance, a program initiated by the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has contributed extensively to the reduction in global poverty rates by targeting issues such as the lack of vital resources (Casey and Stazen 2). Specifically, policies for improving resource management, including the transportation of vital resources such as fresh water and food to areas suffering from the lack thereof, have been implemented actively (Casey and Stazen 3). As a result, significant improvements have been observed in poverty rates. Moreover, with the presence of global poverty, economic crises occurring on a worldwide scale are likely to affect the specified populations in a most adverse manner, exposing them to the risk of death due to the complete deprivation of essential resources.
Nevertheless, the rates of global poverty remain exceptionally high, placing a significant number of vulnerable groups under a considerable threat. The situation has also aggravated due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to the cessation of trade-related interactions and other economic processes in a range of impoverished communities and third-world countries (Newhouse et al. 3). As a result, the levels of unemployment and, therefore, the rates of extreme poverty, have increased significantly over the specified period of time despite the general trend toward an evident improvement observed over the past couple of decades (Newhouse et al. 4). Thus, immediate actions must be taken in order to continue the positive change started in the 1990s and encourage the further management of the issue of extreme global poverty. Specifically, the current programs seem to target solely the issue of poverty as the lack of resources. However, underlying issues such as political instability, underdeveloped economy, absence of educational opportunities, and the resulting absence of employment options, remain largely unaffected (Newhouse et al. 4). For this reason, a change in the current approach toward managing the problems of global poverty ad extreme poverty as one of its outcomes must be introduced.
Specifically, a framework allowing targeting the key issues defining the development of global poverty will need to be designed. The strategy in question will have to view the issue of poverty as a combined effect of sociocultural, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic factors (Li et al. 1167). Thus, the problem of global poverty will be addressed by improving education, global collaboration, and the introduction of employment opportunities for vulnerable groups.
By using a comprehensive strategy that will target not only economic factors, but also political, cultural, technological, and environmental ones, one will be able to reduce the rates of global poverty. Although defeating the issue in question is impossible due to the presence of an incomprehensibly large number of factors that may induce the development of poverty within specific households, pinpointing specific issues and eradicating them from the present sociocultural context is a possibility. Therefore, developing analytical tools that allow authorities to implement a thorough analysis both n local and global levels should be considered the prime factor in managing the issue. Furthermore, solutions regarding the improvement of current education rates among the target audiences should be seen as a crucial part of the solution. For this reason, a global campaign geared toward promoting education on the subject matter, as well as providing opportunities for impoverished communities to improve their financial status by receiving a greater range of employment opportunities and the relevant options, must be deemed as vital. With the help of the proposed framework, one will be able to handle the current global situation with the consistently increasing poverty rates.
Works Cited
Buheji, Mohamed, et al. “The Extent of Covid-19 Pandemic Socio-Economic Impact on global Poverty. A Global Integrative Multidisciplinary Review.” American Journal of Economics, vol. 10, no. 4, 2020, pp. 213-224.
Casey, Louise, and Lydia Stazen. “Seeing Homelessness through the Sustainable Development Goals.” European Journal of Homelessness, vol. 15, no. 3, 2021, 1-9.
Li, Yuheng, Wenhao Wu, and Yongsheng Wang. “Global Poverty Dynamics and Resilience Building for Sustainable Poverty Reduction.” Journal of Geographical Sciences, vol. 31, no. 8, 2021, pp. 1159-1170.
Newhouse, David, Pablo Suárez Becerra, and Martin Evans. “New Global Estimates of Child Poverty and Their Sensitivity to Alternative Equivalence Scales.” Economics Letters, vol. 157, 2017, pp. 125-128.