In our text we read about extreme poverty and global efforts to address it. This
ID: 1203717 • Letter: I
Question
In our text we read about extreme poverty and global efforts to address it. This article discusses some successes and set-backs.
1)With so many global advancements in technology, medicine and education, why is it getting harder to combat extreme poverty? Do you think it would be eradicated if the rich nations would fulfill the UN request of .7% of GNP for foreign aid?
2)With India and Sub Saharan Africa having similar numbers of extreme poverty in 1990, what are some reasons India has been able to cut their extreme poverty nembers by 50% while Africa struggles at 15%?
3) China has reduced their extreme poverty numbers by 57% over the last 25 years but that growth is slowing. While the article discusses the impact the downturn will have on Africa, do you think China will see their own numbers of extreme poverty begin to rise again? Why or why not?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/01/how-china-now-threatens-one-of-the-worlds-greatest-success-stories/
Explanation / Answer
1)The closer we get to ending extreme poverty, the harder it is going to be to do it. We're going to have to pretty much end violent conflict, experience a Damascene climate conversion, sustain high rates of economic growth, avoid any recession in poor countries and make sure nobody who is disabled or seriously ill sees their income drop to less than $1.25 a day. It would potentially cost some of the world's biggest businesses billions of dollars and need to be agreed by a group of world leaders who, if they all went out to dinner, would be sat around the table with their calculators out arguing about how to split the bill.Poverty is a perception – it is a status which is bestowed on people who have relatively little – even in societies of plenty. That's why we probably can't really ever "end" poverty.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) represent global commitments to the eradication of extreme poverty and to halving the overall levels of hunger by the year 2015. The economist Jeffery Sachs, as part of the Millennium Project, identified the main obstacle as that of raising the requisite funding. He calculated that developing countries require around $80 billion dollars a year until 2015 to achieve the goals. However, given the complexities and self interests that affect a significant proportion of ODA (see below) and allowing for administrative costs, Sachs calculated the amount of ODA that needs to be provided by donor countries to meet the MDGs is $135 billion rising to $195 billion by 2015. This represents between 0.44 and 0.54 % of donor GNP over the period, significantly less than the 0.7% that all donor countries have already committed to. It represents an approximate doubling of current donor assistance as a percentage of GNP. These figures represent the total ODA required to reach all the MDGs and not just the elimination of extreme poverty.
The process is a road map, one that is progressive yet slow, with goals that are high minded, yet fall short of what is required. This bold and crucial global compact is far from on track, with some analysts estimating that meeting some of the goals may take an additional 50 years because donors rarely honor their commitments. Until the goals are met, thousands will continue to die daily from extreme poverty. Even if the goals are achieved within the given time frame, 900 million people will have an income of less than US$1 a day in 2015.
36 years later, the world has witnessed numerous further reports, commissions, governmental pledges and millions of unnecessary deaths. Yet ODA figures for some of the largest economies in the world struggle to reach a fraction of this agreed figure, with the global average ODA at 0.25%. Economic superpowers such as the USA argue that they donate the largest amount in US Dollars, but in real terms they invest a mere 0.17% of GNI, the 2nd lowest ODA percentage of all donor nations.the ODA required for achieving the Millennium Development Goals must gradually increase to $195 billion in 2015, or 0.54 percent of donor GNP. Although this represents a small increase from current levels, the Social Watch Report (2005) states that even this modest goal is unlikely to be met given current trends. Foreign aid is provided in order to further foreign policy objectives by securing export markets. It also provides corporations with profitable commercial opportunities. The maintenance of the aid regime reinforces the economic dominance of more affluent nations. It does little for the 1.1 billion people who are living in extreme poverty.So, it is not that effective.
2)India's poverty reduction- The Indian government's definition of poverty in 2009 was questioned by United Nation's World Food Programme. It wondered if 11 kilograms of grains per month per person (24 lbs) is sufficient.The political debate that followed launched India's National Food Security Act, 2013, that guarantees food grains at very low costs to 820 million of the poorest Indians.he Indian government's definition of poverty in 2009 was questioned by United Nation's World Food Programme. It wondered if 11 kilograms of grains per month per person (24 lbs) is sufficient.The political debate that followed launched India's National Food Security Act, 2013, that guarantees food grains at very low costs to 820 million of the poorest Indians.
Integrated Childhood Development Service
The Indian government came up with the Integrated Childhood Development Service (ICDS) in 1975 to combat the problem of malnutrition in the country. ICDS is the world's largest child development programme, but its effects on the problem in India are limited. This is because, suggested a 2006 World Bank study, the programme failed to focus on children under 3, the group that should receive the most help from the ICDS; most growth retardation would have developed by the age of 2 and is mostly irreversible.With the lack of help, the chances that newborn babies are unable to develop fully would be higher.
The quality of ICDS centres varies from states to states; with least number of centers present in the most impoverished states with the highest rates of malnutrition.Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, all rank in the bottom ten in terms of ICDS coverage. Despite the poor distribution of help, the ICDS is still considered to be efficient in improving the health of the children in the country.Statistics from UNICEF show that the mortality rate of children under 5 has improved from 118 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 66 in the year 2009.
Poverty levels in SUB-AFRICA
Under the national poverty line of $43 per month, 47% of South Africans are impoverished. The number of people living on less than $1 a day has doubled from 2 million in 1994 to 4 million in 2006. In 2005, 63% of black children lived in households earned less than 800 rands, compared to only 4% of white children.The spatial segregation of black Africans to poor, rural areas is correlated with higher levels of poverty.
reasons-
Rising economic inequality in South Africa=
Many of the inequalities created and maintained by apartheid still remain in South Africa. Income inequality has worsened since the end of apartheid, but it has begun to deracialize somewhat Between 1991 and 1996, the whitemiddle class grew by 15% while the black middle class grew by 78% The country has one of the most unequal income distribution patterns in the world: approximately 60% of the population earns less than R42,000 per annum (about US$7,000), whereas 2.2% of the population has an income exceeding R360,000 per annum (about US$50,000). Poverty in South Africa is still largely experienced by the black population. Despite many ANC policies aimed at closing the poverty gap, blacks make up over 90% of the country's poor at the same time they are 79.5% of the population.
Land ownership
In 2006, 70% of South Africa’s land was still owned by whites. This is despite the promises of the African National Congress to redistribute 30% of the land from whites to blacks. Whites hold much of South Africa’s land, secured throughfreehold type regimes. More than one-third of the population occupies 13% of the land, often in insecure or secondary ways.
Unemployment
South Africa has extremely high unemployment rates. The overall unemployment rate was 26% in 2004, but historically disadvantaged groups like rural populations, women, and blacks experience higher rates of unemployment.Unemployment is mainly concentrated among unskilled blacks, who comprise 90% of the unemployed. The ANC government has pledged to cut overall unemployment to 14% by 2014, but so far, their efforts have not caused dramatic drops in unemployment.Much of the high unemployment rate is due to the declining manufacturingindustry.The unemployment rate for black South Africans has increased from 23% in 1991 to 48% in 2002.Unemployment continues to rise despite robust economic growth, suggesting structural factors that may be constraining the labor market.
3)Economists caution that the rise or fall of poverty in the coming years depends on a number of hard-to-predict factors, including technology, disease, corruption, war, and climate change. But they also say with growing confidence that the job of fighting poverty is getting harder, particularly in Africa, a continent that is home to half the world’s extreme poor and depends disproportionately on Chinese demand for raw materials.
“If the resource-rich African economies are hit hard, that poses a big challenge for the global poverty trajectory.
The Chinese slowdown opens a potential opportunity for some countries — including Kenya and Ethiopia — that export goods that can be gobbled up by the rising Chinese middle class. But if Chinese growth overall continues to slow, sub-Saharan Africa figures to suffer, the World Bank says. China accounts for more than 40 percent of exports in more than a half-dozen African countries, including Zambia, Angola, and Sierra Leone.
“A lot of African countries that depend on trade with China . . . won’t be able to provide essential services to the poor.
China’s growth is expected to slow further in the coming years. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that growth will be about 6.8% for 2015. With an aging population, slowing productivity growth, and the policy adjustments required to implement structural reforms, growth is projected to slow further to 6.3% in 2016 and 6% by 2017.
Despite the slowdown, there are several reasons for optimism. First, China’s existing allocations of capital and labor leave a lot of room to improve efficiency. If the proposals for financial liberalization and fiscal and labor market reforms can be successfully put in place, improved resource allocations could provide a much-needed boost to productivity. Second, China’s technology is still far behind advanced countries’. According to the Penn World Tables, China’s total factor productivity remains about 40% of the U.S. level.However, if the structural reform plans from China’s Third Plenum can be successfully implemented, then the recent slowdown could be a smooth transition rather than a hard landing. This gives a reason for optimism that China will avoid the middle-income trap and follow the paths of Japan and South Korea to achieve high-income status. SO, china's extrreme numbers can rise but not to an extent which is problematic. it can be controlled and managed.
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