Poverty is one of the major problems faced by the people of our society. It is a condition where people’s basic need for food, clothing and shelter are not being met. It occurs when people cannot obtain adequate resources or when they do not enjoy a certain minimum level of living standard as determined by a government.
Poverty, food prices and hunger are inextricably linked. Poverty causes hunger. Not every poor person is hungry, but almost all hungry people are poor. Millions live with hunger and malnourishment because they simply cannot afford to buy enough food, cannot afford nutritious foods or cannot afford the farming supplies they need to grow enough good food of their own. Hunger can be viewed as a dimension of extreme poverty. It is often called the most severe and critical manifestation of poverty.
Rural households are the most heavily burdened by the consequences of poverty and hunger. In addition to causing hunger, poverty limits a rural community’s ability to invest in its own development. Over 30 percent of rural girls living in poverty are kept out of school to save money, opposed to the 15 percent of urban girls not in school. Studies have shown that lack of general education leads to higher adolescent birth rates; births that in turn over burden an already economically strained community, perpetuating a cycle of gender inequality, poverty and hunger.