Poverty

1. *** Poverty Poverty – is a shortage, deficit or lack of personal resources. Necessities - Required resources that all citizens are entitled to. (food, shelter, clothes) Want – an item or resource that an individual desires but is deemed non-essential

2. *** Poverty is one of the most important factors influencing human life

3. It is an indicator of a country’s relative status within the world

4. It is a relative term as individual wants and needs vary from place to place

5. *** UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX HDI IS BASED ON THREE INDICATORS: (Life expectancy, Literacy Rates, Per Capital GDP. 1. Life Expectancy • A baby girl born in Canada can expect to live to 85 years of age, have sufficient food, vaccinations and a good education. On average she will have $550 spent on medication per year for her needs, with more available if necessary.If she were born in Sierra Leone she would have a life expectancy of just 36 years, not be immunized, be undernourished and if she survived childhood would marry as a teenager and give birth to six children. Childbirth would represent a high risk to her. One or more of her children would die in infancy. She could expect only $3 a year to be spent on medication.

6. *** 2. Literacy Rates • Determined by calculating adult and youth literacy rates, primary and secondary school enrolment, % of children who reach 5th grade and the # of students who enroll in math, science and engineering programs at the end of secondary school careers • South Asian, Sub-Saharan and Arabic countries tend to have the lowest literacy rates, as low as 20-30% • Canada’s literacy rate is 99%

7. *** 3. Per Capita GDP • Gross Domestic Product is the sum total of all goods and services produced over a period of time within a country. • The poorest countries have as low as $400GDP per capita • Canada’s is $22 000GDP per capita • The 2006 UN Human Development Report listed these countries: • Top 5 Norway / Iceland / Australia / Ireland / Sweden / Canada • Bottom 5 Niger / Sierra Leone / Mali / Burkina Faso / Guinea-Bisseau

8. Poverty can be a trap that turns into a cycle – difficult to get out of Baby born to a Malnourished mother Baby’s development is slowed Family in debt Many young; Few job prospects Poor nutrition & medical care Physical/mental development slowed Limited diet, Poor general health Poor performance in school Reduced likelihood Of economic success Low literacy level The Poverty Cycle – page 347 of Counterpoints

9. *** Causes? – MAKE A WEB in your notebook

10. *** War and international conflict

11. *** Natural catastrophes

12. *** Low levels of education = no personal choices

13. *** Lack of natural resources

14. *** Mounting debt

15. Solutions?

16. *** International Monetary Fund Organization of 184 Countries who provide loans to poor countries. Money can only be used to help a country balance their budget. The IMF uses “Structural Adjustment Policies” as conditions to receiving loans

17. *** The World Bank Agency of the UN – Provides Loans and Grants to poor countries. Money can be used for development projects.

18. *** Forgiving Debt… Debt payments in developing countries takes money away from the development of services that could improve their standard of living.

19. *** Factoids! • For every US $1 received in Aid, the world’s most impoverished countries repay $13 on old debts. • Debt payments in some countries are 3X the amount spent on healthcare. (ie: $22US on debt, $14 on Education, $8 on Healthcare.) • Every African man, woman, child owes US $357 to Northern Creditors. They live on 27 cents per day!

20. How does Development Occur? TRADITIONAL ECONOMY – subsistence agriculture (low productivity) DEVELOPING ECONOMY – new technology and infrastructure increase productivity, such as transportation and banking DEVELOPED ECONOMY – diverse areas of wealth generation, strong secondary industries and dominant tertiary industries. Massive consumption of consumer goods and services. Market economy based on supply and demand of capitalism!