Poverty

Many individuals all over the world are affected by poverty. In order to completely understand the cause, the effect, and the solution to ending poverty, we must first understand the meaning of poverty. Poverty is the condition where an individual’s basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met (business dictionary). According to the World Bank Organization, poverty is also the lack of healthcare, education, information, and jobs. There are two general types of poverty: Absolute and Relative. Absolute poverty occurs when individuals cannot obtain adequate resources to support a minimum level of physical health. Relative poverty occurs when individuals do not

Poverty is a major global issue in today’s society. It also has a broad definition as it is very complex and cannot be specifically defined. Poverty is circumstance-dependent. According to Sharif Mohammed, author of Poverty Reduction - An Effective Means of Population Control, “Poverty is a multidimensional condition of human survival, not just a measure of deficiency in income. It is generally defined in relation to a minimum standard of decent living. The levels of living below this are referred to as survival standards. Failure to attain and enjoy the standard is called absolute poverty.” Millions around the world are affected by poverty and it’s an issue that has plagued the globe for centuries. Different

Poverty is a complex societal issue, no matter how it is defined, it can be agreed that it is an issue that requires everybody’s attention. There are two types of poverty: absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute is the deprivation of basic human needs such as food, shelter, clean drinking water, etc. It is measured in relation to the poverty line and serves as a minimum standard below which no one should fall regardless of where they live. Relative poverty on the other hand, is more country specific and is defined as not being able to afford the goods and services needed to fully participate in mainstream society.

Poverty is an authentic life issue people all over the world continue to struggle with. There are many countries that try to help those in poverty, but a complete solution has not been found. Although there are countless definitions of poverty, according to Schwartz, he states in his article the United States Government says; “Poverty is a state of deprivation, or a lack of the usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions”. The government calculates poverty based on the total income a person may receive and it does not include non-cash supplements (Schwartz).

Poverty has many faces, various theories as to the cause, and a hodgepodge of ideas to tackle the issue. It is a multifaceted concept, which includes social, economic, and political elements. Poverty is defined as “the lack of necessities” (i.e., food, shelter, medical care, and safety), and the official poverty threshold is $24,250 (2015 guidelines) annually for families having two adults and two children (family of 4). This figure is computed at three times the income needed to eat according to a modest food plan. One thing not at issue, regardless of what measurements are used, is poverty is real, tangible, and affects millions of people worldwide. The intertwining of poverty and law has produced mixed results on reducing poverty. Census

Because of the subjectivity of the terms, poor and poverty, defining “Who is poor?” is a challenge. The challenge lies in who determines the monetary scale for poverty and being poor and what criteria is utilized to create and revise the monetary measuring scale. Another challenge in identifying “Who is poor?” is defining what constitutes basic needs as well as a minimum and maximum criterion for material possessions. A third challenge to identifying “Who is poor?” is examining the levels of poverty and the levels of

According to Pogge (2008), poverty is a state at which individuals are not able to fulfill their basic human needs of food, shelter and clothing. This is taken in the context of quality and insufficient amounts in quantity. Poverty is categorized into two main classes, absolute and relative

Currently the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization defines poverty in two ways. The first is absolute poverty which “measures poverty in relation to the amount of money necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter” (Poverty). However, this is not comprehensive as it says nothing of the cultural or political context, and hence, “relative poverty defines poverty in relation to the economic status of other members of the society” (Poverty). Ernest-Marie Mbonda describes in her article “Poverty as Violation of Human Rights: Towards a Right to Non-Poverty” that not only does this require that the basic needs of each individual is met, but it also necessitates that the person is able to live in a state with a certain amount of dignity (Mbonda 2). Poverty surely exists everywhere and in every country, but the world’s most destitute populations are concentrated in three regions: Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 46.4% of the world’s poor people, Southern Asia has 29.9%, and Eastern Asia has 16.6% (Pathak 89). This reflects the growing pattern of global inequality, where the developed world and the developing world have very different

Poverty without Purpose While Poverty Persists, There Is No Freedom is a motivational speech given by 87 year old, Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg, South Africa, in regards to becoming an Amnesty International ambassador of conscience (Article A). In correspondence to poverty, connections are made to AIDS and the abuse of children and women in the environments of indigence to evoke a sense of self responsibility (Mandela). With words full of emotion, this speech acknowledges that prisoners of poverty are still full of potential and should not be downcast as helpless issues, but rather opportune probabilities that are capable of bringing nations together to defeat penury. Poverty is a timeless issue that Mandela brings to his audience’s attention through a memorable speech as he incorporates allusions to create, and manipulate, language to arouse the desire to help stamp out poverty.

Majority of our developing country is living on the poverty line. The new poverty line is defined as living on the equivalent of $1.25 a day (Shah). In these conditions, how can one possibly live a comfortable life ? The poor don't have enough for daily life resulting in little to no food on the table. Unfortunately; proper nourishment isn't the only problem, payments for shelter, families and healthcare is a prodigious burden with no help from the minimum wage.

When it comes to poverty, there is the magnitude of definitions explaining the term. The definition of poverty has important implications from point of view of policy making, politics and academic debates. Each view has its own value judgments and explanations. Over the times, new definitions have surfaced the debates and yet, there is not a single universally acceptable definition of poverty. Definitions usually set the perimeters of the terminology and often subject to limitations and criticism. According to the definition of the World Bank, the term lack refers to the scarcity of economic resources while the term inability refers to the failure of competence to take part in a community (Bellu & Liberati, 2005). It is now widely

Poverty is linked with marked deprivation of well-being of an individual due to inability to meet basic needs. It could be due to lack of income or resources to buy goods and services or inability to access them. Thus poor people in the population are considered vulnerable as socioeconomic status is closely linked to a person’s health status.

Poverty is a social problem that affects everyone on an economic, political and social level. The problem of human suffering is one that we must combat strategically on many levels. According to the United Nations, “in 2015 more than one billion people around the world live in a state of poverty, lacking the basic goods food, clothing, and shelter that humans need to survive” (“Poverty”). There are a great number of areas that keep individuals poor, such as lack of resources, inadequate income, lack of education, language barriers and the high cost of child care. Being able to work and provide basic necessities is our basic human right and we should not be deprived of these basic human rights that individuals need in order to live satisfying lives. The government has the responsibility of helping individuals in need with the economic assistance to feed, clothe, house, educate, provide health care and decent wages for every individual. They should ensure that individuals have access to resources that will help them build a better future. There are several ways that we can work together to strategically find solutions to end inequality among the poor individuals in our society.

“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is an act of justice. Like slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”-Nelson Mandela. Poverty at its worst involves hunger leading to starvation, inadequate shelter or housing and lack of clothing. Justice is the idea that all people, everywhere in the world, have the right to a life of dignity. This means a life free from poverty, violence, discrimination or human rights violations. A world where justice exists in a world where all people are included in a society and all people can claim their rights to education, shelter, and health care regardless of how poor or rich they are. Whenever we speak of poverty we must speak of injustice. But more than that, we must speak of HOPE. To give hope we must have it and if we are to build hope in others it will require something of humanity. It is found in our actions. Poverty is a state of deprivation, or a lock of the usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.

In this investigation I will thoroughly research and determine whether South Africa is more developed than its neighbouring countries Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe,