Poverty Alleviation

Cause Overview

Over the years, we've been inundated with the statistics and the pictures of poverty around the world--so much so that many people in both the North and South have come to accept it as an unfortunate but unalterable state of affairs. The truth, however, is that things have changed in recent years. The world today is more prosperous than it ever has been. The technological advances we have seen in recent years have created encouraging new opportunities to improve economies and reduce hunger.

Until recently, poverty was understood largely in terms of income--or a lack of one. To be poor meant that one could not afford the cost of providing a proper diet or home. But poverty is about more than a shortfall in income or calorie intake. It is about the denial of opportunities and choices that are widely regarded as essential to lead a long, healthy, creative life and to enjoy a decent standard of living, freedom, dignity, self-esteem and the respect of others.

People don't live in the squalor of the slums, favellas, squatter communities, low-rent districts or beside garbage dumps because they want to. They have no other choice.

Possessing little money, little education, few skills for the marketplace and a multitude of health problems, nearly half of all the people in the world live in poverty, without much opportunity to improve their lives.

Poverty has multiple dimensions, and many of them are inter-related, making for a vicious cycle.

Source: United Nations Millennium Campaign and Cyberschoolbus