Children and Poverty

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” Poverty is the worst form and the most common form of violence which is committed daily against on quarter of the world’s children. Recently the World Bank revised poverty figures, to show a substantial increase in the number of people around the world living in extreme poverty, putting the new figure at 1.4 billion. The Bank’s new numbers come following an adjustment in the deep poverty measure from $1 per day to $1.25 (Times). Moderate poverty is defined as those living, on $1 to $2 a day, leaving a total of some 2.8 billion people, almost half the world’s population, living in poverty. We live in a society that claims it will not tolerate violence, but we let this injustice continue to plague and haunt the most vulnerable…it is time we took a stand and fought for the victims, that we invested in and worked to protect our future.

How does the food crisis affect children?

The harsh reality is that every five seconds a child dies because she or he is hungry. For many the problem seems distant, but in the wake of the growing food crisis the problem is coming closer and closer to home for many across the globe. The resources needed to end hunger and malnutrition do exist, however children are still not getting the adequate nutrition they need. While child survival has improved in the last twenty years, the progress remains slow, leaving children to continue to suffer needlessly. The effects of malnourished mothers are passed onto their children, as infants are born underweight, under five child mortality rates remain high, and malnourishment and undernourishment are responsible for stunting and mental underdevelopment.

The food crisis is compounded by drought and a growing HIV/AIDS epidemic; illness and hunger have become added burdens that are keeping children out of school.

• According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die every day due to poverty.
• Every 2.2 seconds, a child loses a parent due to war, natural disaster, poverty, disease and other causes.
• 133 million children who have lost one or both of their parents and 15 million are orphaned due to AIDS.
• Around 27-28% of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. If current trends continue, the Millennium Development Goals target of halving the proportion of underweight children will be missed by 30 million children, largely because of slow progress in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. (2008 Human Development Report).
• HIV/AIDS takes its toll on children across the country, not only as victims, but as primary caregivers for their ailing relatives. Children are forced out of school to care for their sick parents. Not only are children burdened with picking up the slack for a failings in the healthcare systems, they are often forced to work to support the family by finding work on the streets peddling or taking up other work to supply the household income.

What has been the affect on children from the food crisis?

The rising of fuel and food across the globe has left few unscathed and one can easily find themselves feeling the hit at both the pump and in the checkout line, enough to cause one to curtail their spending. Unemployment rates have spiked all time highs and worldwide everyone is tightening their belts. With many families incomes on the decline or remaining stagnate, one is beginning to see a grain of insight into the enormity of the effects on the world’s food shortage.

As food prices have raised an average of 83%, some staple foods such as rice and corn have risen as much as 300%, it has led to a food shortage that is continuing to plagued nations across the globe. It is for this reason that the issue of poverty and hunger has become a priority on the minds of many. Today is a day to bring awareness to the realities of the situation as it is World Food Day, the theme of this year’s Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is, World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy.

The crisis has left the most vulnerable members of society even more vulnerable, with families spending as much at 3/4th of their household income on food. When families reduce their food consumption it is women and children who suffer the most. According to the 2009 Global Hunger Index, released by the International Food Policy Research Institute, 29 countries around the globe are experiencing “alarming or extremely alarming” levels of child mortality, child malnutrition and other hunger-related health problems.

What are the main causes?

1. Climate change – an increase in natural disasters
2.  The increased consumption of biofuels – increased consumption of food and competition for land causing additional price increases.
3. Increased cost of fossil fuels – increased cost of farm inputs.
4. Increased demand for food products such as meat and dairy – increases consumption of grains.
5. Poor investment in small scale farming.

The food crisis is a global crisis and it has left the world in need of major reforms in the agricultural sector, especially in regards to increasing small scale farming and developing climate control policies. The crisis is not new and it was with this growing problem that world leaders from more than 100 nations came together in 2000 at the United Nations and agreed to the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). One of the eight goals was to reduce the number of people in the world who live on $1 a day or less, in half by the year 2015. At the current rate what was set as a goal appears to be more of a dream.