What is "The Poverty Question"?

Moderate or extreme poverty burdens the lives of 3 billion people. Poverty in the global south is the legacy of centuries of narrow and immoral incentives to engage in Africa, South America, South Asia and South-Eastern Asia.  The rich world has viewed the global south as a playground to derive needed minerals and materials and not much else. 

For centuries, a distorted understanding of the promise of the global south has caused the rest of the world to ignore the needs and demands of local populations and poor communities and specifically, their potential to develop healthy societies. As a result we live in a world that is both highly unequal and woefully oppressive for half of its population. 

Past investments to fight poverty have often been ineffective. While there have been some notable victories over disease and suffering, poverty reduction in the global south continues to languish. The Washington Post noted that “every year, governments and charities spend some $200 billion on projects in poor countries” (Washington Post, 9/3/07). Meanwhile, poverty reduction is limited at best. Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, is sliding backwards. All 22 nations listed with “Low Human Development” (UNDP Human Development Report, 2008) are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa has 13% of the world’s population yet it produces only 2% of global GDP output (World Bank, 2008).

Funds abound but social change does not. Young people provide an untapped resource to redirect this ineffectual course. Their idealism and open-mindedness to new solutions creates opportunities to empower communities to develop and own solutions to poverty. In 2008, more than 241,000 American students studied abroad (USA Today, 11/17/08). Students are specifically choosing to study in developing countries. In 2008 there was a 19% increase in study abroad in Africa over the previous year. Students studying abroad are most often from social science (21.4%) or business and management (19.1%) backgrounds because these courses of study typically prioritize engagement with the global community. Access for American youth to begin community-based social enterprises to reduce poverty is urgently needed, and that’s what Think Impact provides.

For more resources about human development and the poverty question, we recommend visiting http://hdr.undp.org.