THE TRUTH ABOUT PHYSICAL POVERTY

1. THE TRUTH ABOUT PHYSICAL POVERTY Facilitated by Victor Cortez

2. The UNDERSTANDINGthat we have of poverty determines our RESPONSE to it.

3. FH’s Mission “To walk with churches, leaders and families in overcoming all forms of human poverty by living in healthy relationship with God and His creation.”

4. “POVERTY IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL SUFFER” • “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” • (Romans 3:10-12)

5. THE NATIONS AREN’T POOR … THEY PRODUCE POVERTY! Oppression Poverty • The fruits aren’t produced casually. • The fruits are a visible sign of what exists invisibly in the tree. • Their poverty doesn’t come from natural resources, capital, etc. But it comes from the worldview of the people. • In almost all of the cases, today’s poorest nations were never impacted significantly by the Gospel and its history. Ignorance Under development Chaos Injustice Lie Lie Lie

6. THE NATIONS AREN’T PROSPEROUS … THEY PRODUCE PROSPERITY! Liberty Prosperity • The fruits aren’t produced casually. • The fruits are a visible sign of what exists invisibly in the tree. • Their wealth don’t come from natural resources, capital, etc. But it comes from the worldview of the people. • In almost all the cases, today’s prosperous nations were deeply impacted by the Gospel and its history, or have imitated others that were. Science Development Order Justice Truth Truth Truth

7. POVERTY AS A SYSTEM OF HELPLESSNESS Adapted from Christian (1994) y Myers (2002) • False worldview CULTURAL SYSTEM • Captives to • the non-poor • Lack of • options SOCIAL-ECONOMIC SYSTEM BIOPHYSICAL SYSTEM • Weak • mind and • body SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS SYSTEM PERSONAL SYSTEM • Cheated by the • principalities • Damaged identity

8. WHO ARE THE MATERIALLY POOR? • “The poor aren’t an ABSTRACTION, but a group of humans that have names, that have been made in the image of God, whose hairs are counted and for whom Jesus died” • (Myers 2002, P.60)

9. WORLD POVERTY MAP

10. CHRONIC UNDERWEIGHT IN CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS MAP SOURCE: FAO - 2004 32% of children < 5 years (178 million) are stunted in all developing countries .

11. CHRONIC UNDERWEIGHT IN CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS Source: Socioeconomic inequality in malnutrition in developing countries (WHO 2008)

12. Malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean • 52 million people in this region are undernourished • 11 countries have shown little progress and even setbacks in their number of malnourished individuals in 2007 • 9 million children < 5 years of age are stunted • 22.3 million preschool children, 33 million women of childbearing age and 3.6 million pregnant women have anemia

13. WHY IS CHRONIC MALNUTRITION (STUNTING) IMPORTANT? • It is the best indicator of quality of life. It is a sign of a structural problem and reflects objectively the imbalance of social determinants. • Its multi-causality calls for a multi-factorial and multi-sectorial approach • It is strongly associated with the individual and social development of the country • It is useful to assess inequalities among regions and communities

14. WHY IS CHRONIC MALNUTRITION (STUNTING) IMPORTANT? • To reduce poverty, there must be policies, strategies and programs specifically tackling chronic malnutrition. • The prevalence of chronic malnutrition is a relevant and valid measure of endemic poverty and is a better indicator than estimates of per capita income. • Persistent high prevalence of stunting among children indicates chronic failure in poverty alleviation.

15. Investing in Malnutrition: a Prerequisite for Reducing Poverty Source: Alderman, Harold (2004). Linkages Between Poverty Reduction Strategies and Child Nutrition.

16. Chronic Malnutrition has a High Economic Cost • When children die or are chronically ill, there are increased health care costs and future productivity losses • Impaired brain development impacts school performance, causing added costs in the education sector • Malnutrition causes low(er) productivity in adult life • Due to the above issues, Latin America’s Gross Domestic Product is negatively impacted by an estimated $6.7 billion annually!

17. GUATEMALA • 118th position of 177 countries in the Human Development Index • 40% profess evangelical faith • 25,000 churches. In FH work areas there are 3 to 6 churches in every community • 3rd place in social violence in Latin America • 1.1 million women and men have immigrated out • 92% urban and 54% rural areas have running water • 72% urban and 52% rural areas have basic sanitation • Average of 5.6 years of schooling in urban settings, 2.2 years in indigenous children

18. Poverty Index Source: UNDP (2005)

19. Chronic Malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean Source: IADB (2008)

20. Chronic Malnutrition in Rural Areas Segundo Censo Nacional de Talla 2002 - Ministerio de Educación, FAO, PMA, UNICEF, USAID, Universidad de San Carlos FH/Guatemala Baseline Result (July 2008) 71.5% malnutrition

21. Consequences of Chronic Malnutrition • The critical window for a child's optimal physical/ mental growth and development is under age 2. • If the opportunity is missed, the child will be adversely affected for the rest of his/her life.

22. Consequences of ChronicMalnutrition II Children who suffer from chronic malnutrition fail to grow to their full genetic potential, both mentally and physically (Matte, 2001).

23. Chronic Malnutrition Framework

24. The UNDERSTANDINGthat we have of poverty determines our RESPONSE to it.

25. The two tragedies of the world´s poor • The first tragedy: Jeffrey Sachs notes that 30,000 children die every day from extreme poverty. For example, 1,8 million children die annually from diarrhea that could be prevented with 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy • But there is a second tragedy: the West has spent $2.3 trillion on foreign aid over five decades, and babies with diarrhea are still not getting 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy • William Easterly, The White Man´s Burden

26. THANK YOU! ! ALL THE GLORY TO GOD!