POVERTY REDUCTION: Need of the Day

We are now into the digital era. Progress in the field of Information Technology has become inevitable for all countries. Each individual in this world is of equal importance. But majority of the world population cannot even think of being a part of this digitalized world. Every person has equal right to get access to basic necessities of life. If we look around, we will find very dis-appointing situation.

Humans have categorized themselves into different classes like rich, middle class, lower middle class and poor. Uneven distribution of resources also exists. Poverty can be defined as state or condition of being deprived from basic necessities like food, shelter, clothes etc. International Fund for Agricultural Development report 2011 indicates 1.4 billion people living on less than US 1.25$ per day and come under poor category. This shows of the social dimensions of world’s development in this 21st century. Between 2006-2008, the world food prices got doubled which pushed world’s poor population even further deep below poverty line. Although different public and private organizations are working on this global issue but still there is a lot of work to do.

Historically, people living in remote areas have always remained deprived of their access to basic necessities because of being located at a distance from cities. About 70% of the world very poor people live in rural areas. People living in villages contributes about 3 forth of the world’s poor. About 70%of the rural people have only agriculture and livestock as the source of income for them. This is such an ironic situation that daily about 25,000 people in the world die due to extreme poverty known has hunger. Poverty is not an issue any more; it has become the global threat especially for the developing and under developed nations. Although different public and private NGOs are working on poverty and have done remarkable reduction in the poverty ratio but, it needs to be tackled more seriously.

There different causes of poverty. Globally rising food prices is one of the major causes and still acting as hurdle in reducing poverty ratio. Over-population is another important factor. World population is increasing day by day and it is very difficult to get access to all people especially in those countries with limited resources. Unequal distribution of resources, inadequate and insufficient employment and education are also among major causes of poverty. Due to increasing population, global job crisis is now becoming serious issue for the whole world whether developed, developing or under developed. This ratio is even higher in under developed countries. This an emerging challenge for the whole world. This factor has also major contribution towards poverty enhancement.

If serious attention will not be paid towards poverty reduction, a time will come when food crisis will start. Urbanization has already become a global challenge which is only due to poverty. The population of developing world is more rural than urban. Up to 2020, the rural population will beat its maximum level. Then it will start to decline which will cause another issue for developing world. The population of the developed nations has already more urban. If the rural poverty will not be controlled, then people will migrate towards urban areas.

According to William Wordsworth:
“if the misery of the poor, is not due to the laws of nature but by our institutions, great is our sin”
For reducing poverty, a collective effort is required. Rural areas must be targeted. Government policies should be reviewed and extra financial pressure on rural people should be reduces in the form of subsidies, interest free loans etc. small income generating sources must be introduced in rural areas and make the people aware about them. Rural advisory system should be strengthened to help rural people at their doorstep. Rural policy should be developed with the participation of stakeholders. If this not done on time: future belongs to poverty.