Eradicating Global Poverty

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Eradicating Global Poverty
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How many people die every day simply because they
are too poor to stay alive?
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20,000 people a day
That means the world loses the population of New
York City every year, just to poverty.
-Jeffrey Sachs, The End of Poverty
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How much of the worlds population is in poverty?
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• Close to half, about 3 billion people

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How do you think the U.S. does at providing aid
to countries faced with poverty?
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.16 of our GDP
That is the smallest percentage of any
industrialized country.
-John Gaventa, Conference on World Affairs
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How much money does Africa receive in aid each
year?
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How much do corrupt governments cost their
countries each year?
25 billion/year
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148 billion
Thats right25 billion of aid-148 billion
from corruption-123 billion
-George Ayittey, Free Africa Foundation Founder,
Conference on World Affairs
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The Three Levels of Poverty

• Relative Poverty lacking in things the middle
  class takes for granted
• Moderate Poverty 1-2 per day basic needs
  barely met
• Extreme Poverty Less than 1 per day cannot
  meet basic survival needs

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How much of Africa lives in extreme poverty?
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More than HALF
-Jeffrey Sachs, The End of Poverty, 2005
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Life Expectancy

•  over 80
•  77.5-80
•  75-77.5
•  72.5-75
•  70-72.5
•  67.5-70
•  65-67.5

•  60-65
•  55-60
•  50-55
•  45-50
•  40-45
•  under 40
•  not available

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History of Poverty

• Pre-Industrial Revolution
• Post-Industrial Revolution
• New Focus Africa

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Main Causes/Obstacles

• Disease
• Armed Conflict
• Geographic Isolation Lack of Infrastructure
• Corruption
• Natural Hazards

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Obstacle 1 Disease

• Malaria kills more than 1 million Africans/year
• -accounts for 1 billion in job absenteeism/year
• HIV/AIDS over 25 million of worlds 35-42
  million AIDs sufferers in Africa
• Disease and Poverty mutually reinforcing
• Creates Youth Bulges population made heavily
  of under 30 demographic

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Obstacle 2 Armed Conflict

• Young demographic more likely to engage in armed
  conflict, civil unrest
• Encourages mass rape, helps spread HIV/AIDS
• Conflicts destroy limited infrastructure in place
• Again, mutually reinforcing relationship with
  poverty

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Obstacle 3 Infrastructure

• Inadequate schools, hospitals, access to clean
  water, and roads
• Water, health care, and education can improve
  living conditions and create more skilled workers
  
• Difficult geographic realities drought
• Without system of roads, bridges, ports, etc.,
  countries cannot transport exports
• Increasing exports one suggestion for developing
  economies in Africa
• Vicious cycle?

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Obstacle 4 Corruption

• Considered by many to be the greatest problem
• Will aid money get where its supposed to?
• Approx 148 billion/year funds lost to corruption

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Obstacle 4 Corruption

• Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (Democratic Republic of
  Congo)
• Stole perhaps 8 billion from his country

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Role of the World Bank and IMF

• World Bank- lends money to developing countries
  for development programs
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)- promotes
  international monetary cooperation, working for a
  stable exchange rate and economic growth
• They allow countries to develop, but has held
  some of them to high interest rates, delineate
  how money is to be used, and require policy
  reform
• Should there be debt relief for poor countries?

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History

• Marshall Plan (Economic Recovery Program)
• U.S. spent over 13 billion to revive post-WWII
  Europe from 1948-52
• Considered inspiration for many who believe
  massive aid/Big Push is best solution to global
  poverty

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History

• Skeptics say that Europe was already
  industrialized, literate, and had democratic
  traditions
• Supporters counter that massive aid worked for
  some Asian countries such as South Korea and
  Taiwan
• Beneficiaries of massive Cold War aid African
  countries receive far less aid
• Hong Kong and Singapores success not directly
  related to aid

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History of the World Bank

• Officially called the International Bank for
  Reconstruction and Development
• Formed in 1944 at Bretton Woods
• International Institution
• Works closely with the International Monetary Fund

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History of the World Bank

• Initially interested in developing industrial
  production in undeveloped countries
• A Top-Down Approach, proposed by outsiders to
  model Western countries
• Walt Rostows The Stages of Economic Growth
  economic take-offs

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History of World Bank

• Kennedys formation of USAID (State Department,
  not World Bank)
• Africa ignored U.S. focused on political
  alliances because of a lack of valuable resources

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History of World Bank

• Robert McNamara
• -increased commitment to ending poverty
• -lending rose from 1 billion to 13 billion
  during his tenure

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History of World Bank

• In 1970s, dues to oil crisis, McNamara
  instituted structural adjustment policies
• -increased privatization, smaller
  bureaucracies

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History of World Bank

• 1980s dominance of neo-liberal policies
• Washington Consensus favored market-based
  growth
• Seen by many as unable to end poverty, lessen
  inequality

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The United Nations

• 2000 Kofi Annans Millennium Development
  Goals
• 50 reduction in poverty
• Along with other factors, such as eradicating
  hunger, promoting gender equality, and ensuring a
  global partnership
• 2002 - Monterrey Consensus rich nations
  pledge to donate up to .7 of Gross National
  Income to poverty reduction
• -Former U.S. Ambassador to UN Bolton has since
  hedged US commitment

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Millennium Development Goals

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

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US Perception Role

• What should our role in fighting poverty be?
  Excerpt
• Misconception we already give enough
• War on Terror
• Throwing money at them doesnt solve the problem
• Subsidizingand dumping
• Here, have some weapons

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Massive Aid

• The G-8 in 2005 pledged to double spending on
  poverty to 50 bil/yr in 5 years/ .7 of GDP
• Half of aid would go to Africa
• Will these nations follow through?
• Can massive aid solve the problem?

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Stopping Government Corruption

• Stop paying bribes for market access
• Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
• Africa is not a country
• Be strategic!

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The Big Five Development Interventions

• Proposed by Jeffrey Sachs, director of the UN
  Millennium Project
• Boost Agriculture
• Improve Basic Health
• Invest in Education
• Bring power
• Provide clean water and sanitation
• Jeffrey Sachs in Africa

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NGOs

• Be intentional
• Where does the money go?
• Where should reform come from?
• A word from a Kenyan
• What should NGOs give? Food, health clinics,
  etc.Knowledge empowerment

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What can you do?

• Play games click.
• www.freerice.com
• www.freeflour.com
• www.freepoverty.com
• www.thehungersite.com
• Talk about it. www.one.org
• Buy things. www.joinred.org
• Give great gifts. www.kiva.org
• Go. Help. Teach. Heal. Give.

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Thought Question
What is the best solution to combat poverty in
Africa? What are the unintended consequences? How
realistic is this in actually ending poverty?