Poor should be seen as consumers with special needs

Poor should be seen as consumers with special needs 

( By Neha Soni ) 

Image By:- Goutham Sagar

 “Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings.”   - Nelson Mandela

What is poverty? 

Poverty is the lack of basic human needs, like clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing, and shelter, because of the shortcoming to afford them. In 1998, a UN Statement on poverty stated: “Fundamentally, poverty may be a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means a lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough food and cloth for a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land to live on, not a job to earn, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness, and exclusion of people, households, and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and living in fragile environments, without access to clean water”.

What are poverty pockets? 

Poverty pockets are pockets of poor people in a country. The poverty levels of such populations and communities exceed by far and away from the national average. At the national level, such populations and communities are widely considered as socio-economically weak and they are often well delineated by the govt. for the aim of financial aid measures. Depending on the country context these pockets could be urban slum dwellers, migrants, homeless, internally displaced population, victims of natural disasters, indigenous and tribal communities, unskilled daily wage earners, informal laborers in the organized and unorganized sectors, etc.

Effects of poverty:-

Health - Globally, millions suffer from poverty-related health conditions as infectious diseases ravage the lives of an estimated 14 million people a year and are of the highest effects of poverty. These diseases are contracted through sources like contaminated water, the absence of water and sanitation, and lack of access to proper healthcare.

Diseases which are commonly linked to poverty are- 
- Tuberculosis
- Malaria 
- Respiratory infections
- Aids
- Diarrhoeal diseases
- Malnutrition

Crime - There’s an adage that says, “If a person doesn’t work, he doesn’t eat.” That’s not the case for a huge number of people living in poverty. Lack of economic opportunity ends up in impoverishment which then leads to crime. Global unemployment is at a high point. 170 million people around the world are jobless (As per Global Data Monitoring Website Statista). In some parts of the globe, mainly poor parts, unemployment standings will drive this number higher. Because of these struggles, the crime rate is higher. 

Lack of Education - There is a direct relationship between low academic performance and poverty. Children who are exposed to extreme levels of poverty have difficulty with cognitive development, speech, and managing stress, which ends up in adverse behavior.

In these poor locations, young adults and kids have to leave school for work to help in providing additional income for their families. Other children don’t have access to education because of decent schools being too far for them to travel to. On the other hand, schools which are near don’t have enough resources to educate children. The conditions of the schools are just as poor as the children’s living conditions.

Solutions for poor people:-

Increase employment - There is a lot of work to be done but first of all, there should be a solution for employment. That’s where the government can step in. Investments in infrastructure, building mass transit, vital services like schools, childcare, and eldercare generate both public benefits and jobs.

Paid family and sick leave - Paid leave is a very important anti-poverty policy, as having a baby is one of the leading causes of economic hardship. Paid leave can help parents to take care of their children from falling into poverty.

Support pay equity -  Closing the gender wage gap would cut poverty in half for working women and their families and add nearly half a trillion dollars to the nation’s gross domestic product.

Education - According to UNESCO in 2017, if all students in low-income countries had just basic reading skills (nothing else), an estimated 171 million people could escape extreme poverty. If all adults completed secondary education, we could cut the world's poverty rate by more than half.

Education develops skills and abilities, corrects some of the imbalances that come out of marginalization, and reduces both risk and vulnerability. a number of the key areas of focus for making sure that education is actually for all involve breaking down the barriers to education — creating access in remote areas, supporting teachers in their work to deliver quality education, and ensuring that education is available to children living in fragile contexts.

There is nothing inevitable about poverty. We just need to build the political will to enact the policies that will increase economic security, expand opportunities, and grow the lower and middle class.

Disclaimer:-

The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Light de Literacy and LDL does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.