Poverty In The World

Poverty in the world

Thanks to rapid economic and technological development, there has been a drastic improvement in most people’s living standard. But sadly, the irreversible trend of globalization has widened the income disparity between the rich and the poor. Actually, the deterioration of the poverty problem has raised the alarm bells. If we don’t find solutions to eradicating poverty, the repercussions will be disastrous.
As far as I am concerned, frequent occurrence of wars is the stumbling block of economic development is these countries. Sadly, the recalcitrant leaders of these regions spend a large proportion of government expenditures on developing weapons of mass destruction in lieu of stimulating economic development. Inevitably, there are countless casualties and deaths when wars break out. To add insult to injury, wars result in widespread destruction of infrastructures. Under these circumstances, it is extremely difficult to develop agriculture, industry and commerce.
In addition, widespread illiteracy is also the encumbrance of development in economically backward regions. Due to frequent occurrence of wars, agricultural and industrial production is sluggish. As a result, people find it difficult to maintain their livelihood. Children in such impoverished countries as Ethiopia, Afghanistan and North Korea are deprived of the opportunity of receiving education as their parents cannot afford huge school fees. As a result, most people are semi-illiterate or illiterate. In an increasingly knowledge-based world, they are highly uncompetitive. They can only depend on farming. Unfortunately, most of these countries lie in hazard-prone areas. Therefore their harvest is unreliable. To tackle this vicious circle, education is the most effective way. But unmistakably, local governments in impoverished nations cannot afford the huge expenses of education due to prolonged fiscal deficits.
Another obstruction of poverty eradication is the spread of infectious diseases. Owing to low education levels, people in impoverished countries have low awareness of sanitation. The poor hygienic conditions have given rise to the spread of such infectious diseases as cholera, malaria and dengue fever. To rub salt into the wounds, the spread of AIDS has been pervasive since the 1980s due to a lack of sex education. Tragically, these epidemics have taken the lives of hundred of thousands of people. Evidently, the loss of labour force severely undermines the competitiveness of the poor countries.
Recently, some of the richest nations in the world, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, have agreed to write off the debts of some impoverished nations. This is something to be applauded. But in the long term, we have to dig into the root of poverty. As a matter of fact, both governments and charitable organizations can make tremendous contributions to the eradication of poverty.
As mentioned above, frequent occurrence of wars has opened the Pandora’s Box in the impoverished nations. Therefore, prevention of wars is of paramount significance. In my opinion, the United Stations and developed countries should cooperate in pursuit of peace. For instance, they can send delegates to organize negotiations for people of different political spectrum in these countries. In this way, political leaders can resolve their disputes through dialogues instead of wars.
As far as high rate of illiteracy is concerned, international relief agencies, such as the Red Cross, the World Bank and the Oxfam, can play crucial roles in improvement of education in the poor countries. For example, they can make use of donations to build schools for the underprivileged. They can subsidize children to buy textbooks and stationery. As there is a lack of teachers in the developing countries, these charitable organizations should send more volunteers to teach the children. Equally important is that affluent nations should provide more financial assistance to countries which are in dire straits. With abundant capital, poor nations can implement mandatory education in schools. In this way, children will be equipped with skills and knowledge. There is no doubt this will raise the competitiveness of these countries.
The prevention of infectious diseases is also of particular concern. In my opinion, international charitable organizations can send doctors to economically backward regions to cure dying patients. They can also promote civic awareness and sex education. Governments can also educate people about the significance of public hygiene and safe sex. Hopefully, these measures can prevent the widespread outbreak of infectious diseases.
In a world swimming against the tide of poverty, both governments and charitable organizations have made strenuous efforts to alleviate the alarming problem. Undeniably, alleviation of impoverishment is no easy task. But in an increasingly globalized world, all of us have moral obligation to help the underprivileged. Let us build a world of affluence and merriment!

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