Introduction
Poverty is a global problem as all the nations around the globe face the issue of poverty. Billions of individuals across the world live in extreme poverty, receiving less than $1.90 in a day (Lodge & Wilson, 2016). Extreme poverty is an absolute or destitution poverty, and it could be detrimental to the life and health of people. However, the world is establishing tremendous progress in overcoming worldwide poverty. A country can aid in ending poverty by finding the causes of poverty in a particular community and recognizing the requirements for transformation. Also, the works to eliminate global poverty fluctuates in the context. Thus, this paper outlines the causes of poverty and what government, international NGOs, and multinational financial institutions can do to alleviate poverty.
Causes of Poverty
In the 21st century, a great pandemic causes a mass extinction leading to a high probability of poverty. Pandemics and epidemics can lead to the enormous economic crisis as individuals avoid public areas and market, employees fall sick, and disease control methods and quarantines decrease travel and lockdown on trade. Acute economic disruption causes specific hazards for households whose livelihood is risky. Despite developing international attention, surveillance of disease remains weakest in penurious nations at the most significant risk. Such societies experience inadequately trained epidemiologists, infrastructure, and labs. Underinvestment in awareness reproduces a high burden to the top dangers of a pandemic.
Environmental degradation and poverty are interrelated. Poverty among individuals puts stress on the surroundings, while ecological challenges cause severe suffering to the underprivileged. Human relies on natural resources, food, and water to live. Hence all economic activities are remotely, indirectly, and directly founded on natural resources, and any force can result in environmental stress. Environmental destruction can stop individuals, especially the vulnerable, from having hygienic and better living standards. Many nations depend on the environment for their survival hence having higher rates of obtaining environmental challenges. Due to poverty, individuals put more stress on the situation which leads to improper disposal of human waste resulting in unhealthy living conditions, deforestation, overexploitation of natural resources, and more pressure on weaker land to encounter their necessities. Also, inadequate knowledge regarding agricultural practices can result from declining in crop productivity and yield. Environmental degradation leads to more suffering as damages to the environment, upsurges the impact of catastrophes and floods. Hence, land degradation, soil erosion, and deforestation result in deterioration in food production, and scarcity of wood for fuel leads to inflation.
High unemployment and poverty lead to economic consequences in a nation. When a country has a higher number of unemployed people, the possibility of falling into long term redundancy increases. According to Concern worldwide US (2020), the available amount of employment inclines to vary, generating long periods of unemployment. If the level of unemployment in nations with high population rises at a slower rate, this leads to numerous people who are unable to work and make a living. A high proportion of unemployment shows the economy is inefficient as it functions below full capacity leading to lower incomes and output. Also, if people remain unemployed, the chances of purchasing numerous products are limited, resulting to lower production and spending, causing a negative multiplier effect. When consumers spend less many firms are forced to lay off more employees.
Conflict and poverty are extensively known to be closely interrelated; poverty makes nations more liable to civil war, whereas armed conflict deteriorates economic and governance performance, thus raising the risk of conflict decline. When conflict breaks out, countries face the depletion of social welfare as services and goods are diverted to the battle effort; security and justice provision withdraw into elite enclaves, and urban zones and the infrastructures in rural regions are devastated in the disputed territory. Conflict results and combines poverty. First, reducing human and labor investment, then abolishing financial capital and productive assets, and finally, destroying the social trust capital and support upon which robust economic and political systems rely. According to Concern worldwide US (2020), the established war institutions and economies in conflict are devastatingly extractive and incline to change local political economies through their dependence on coercion and smuggling. These performances can become war drivers in their right, and prolong conflict-related viciousness and disparity even after the ending of the war. Poverty at the state level can reduce resilience to war by flagging government organizations, stripping the provision of public goods capacity, and restraining the authority and power projection, whether coercive or soft.
Furthermore, overpopulation is one of the significant causes of poverty worldwide. Overpopulation is the state where high numbers of individuals living in a specific area have limited space and resources. High population densities put pressure on the available resources. In nations where individuals live by primary methods of hunting, basic farming, gathering, and gardening, and also in regions where there are larger surfaces of land, food production is relatively low given a small number of people due to the techniques of production. The increased production levels lead to more significant pressure on the carrying land capacity hence resulting from straining on economies in the nations to attain a higher agricultural growth and also access high living standards. In this case, high population growth levels are one of the aspects that contributes to the rise of augmented levels of inequality. Also, the capability to avoid poverty becomes gradually challenging due to the increased size of families.
The Government Initiative to Alleviate Poverty
The government should utilize anti-poverty programs such as Means-tested programs as they help to improve the living standards or increase the capacity for self-support to the underprivileged. Consequently, unlike other government approaches, means-tested welfare plans do not necessitate before fiscal involvement to create suitability. They permit money to be set to those individuals who require the cash, for example, pension credit and family tax credit. It is inexpensive compared to universal benefits and decreases the taxpayer’s burden (Barry & Øverland, 2016). Also, raising the progressive taxes, like the higher income tax rate, will lead to a more income from individuals on high-income levels enabling a reduction in regressive taxes such as VAT and improved welfare benefits, which aid intensify the income of the unfortunate. Hence, this can be a better method to decrease relative poverty. Besides, the government can involve in giving every citizen in a weekly benefit irrespective of the income and circumstances. The impression is to guarantee individuals have a minimum income assurance, however, without any hindrances of losing the effectiveness of means-tested benefits.
The government should deliver education that offers skills that improve incomes and employment opportunities while assisting in caring for individuals from socio-economic susceptibilities. More equitable development of knowledge can decrease inequality, thus improving the unfortunate from vulnerable situations. Developed necessary skills such as numeracy, writing, and reading have an acknowledged positive impact on the marginalized income of the populations as it upsurges the rate of economic return (Barry & Øverland, 2016). Also, the government can offer public services that are delivered at a subsidized cost and mainly include education. Free education facilitates those from vulnerable families to gain qualifications and skills, which can assist in the provision of higher incomes and better jobs in the future.
Highly controlled labor markets, with extreme regulation, may deject firms from the establishment of new businesses and retaining workers. The government should provide more flexible labor markets that can deliver a long-term improvement to investment. Also, when the government lowers income taxes, it can help in improving the motivation to work and upsurge the supply of labor. Thus, cutting down can help in boosting the economy of a country hence reducing poverty.
The government could raise the national minimum wage. Increasing the minimum wage is an excellent method of improving the incomes of the low paid individuals hence decreasing wage inequality. For instance, an associated model is the Voluntary Living Wage, which attempts to inspire firms to pay more excellent wages (Barry & Øverland, 2016). Also, in the informal sector, if payments increase when the minimum wage rises, there is a higher possibility of reducing poverty in a country.
Unemployment leads to poverty, causing a higher reliance on state benefits. The government can reduce unemployment by applying supply-side strategies like free training structures for unemployed individuals. Besides, unemployment and poverty are often geographical challenges with depressed regions facing higher poverty levels. The government could adopt policies such as subsidies to overcome poverty in depressed geographic areas. Also, constructing better infrastructure in unfortunate parts can offer an economic stimulus to generate new jobs.
INGOs Initiatives
International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) should intensify the emphasis on aid efficiency by administration foundations and agencies. Macroeconomic instability causes poverty, and support has a stabilizing effect, which contributes to the reduction of poverty by making development more pro-poor. The potential impact of aid to decrease debt is mainly significant in the setting of world economic and financial turmoil. The vulnerable low-income nations have a higher risk of facing instability as they have never encountered a world recession due to migrant remittances and commodity price levels hence higher chances of falling into poverty traps. Thus, INGOs should put more emphasis on government agencies for aid effectiveness.
INGOs should utilize the opportunity for climate change by forcing much required new strategy and analysis, including the deep incorporation of evolving and environmental issues into contemporary practice and missions. While many advancements INGOs have been sluggish to incorporate environmental issues into their programs, climate change could well power the advancement of conservation and ecological concerns where they can collaborate. Also, global risk may need INGOs to re-evaluate their basic policy proposal and assumptions (Cavill & Sohail, 2007). Due to the extensiveness and severity of its repercussions, the change of climate may be particularly pertinent for an asset-based method. Thus, when INGOs utilize this opportunity, it can also provide new potential funding chances.
Also, INGOs should encourage political participation for women empowerment and gender equality. Sustainable economic growth necessitates deprived individuals to have an impact on the decisions that influence their lives. Strengthening the voices of women in the political process enhances more significant consideration and social independence of gender concerns in the policy. Hence to promote the political empowerment of women, INGOs should guarantee fair legal protection, reinforce and support the ability of gender organizations and offer equal education...
