World Poverty
WORLD POVERTY AND EDUCATION
SINGER’S CLAIMS
Poverty is a global challenge as it affects both developed and developing countries
Statistics have revealed that a majority of the world’s population do not have access to enough food, health care, safe water, clothing among others (Singer, 2009).
The system of education in the U.S. does not equip the students with skills and knowledge needed to solve the issue of poverty
Provision of education and aid is critical to alleviating world poverty
PROVISION OF EDUCATION
Education makes the learners become aware of the issue of poverty
It equips the students with the needed knowledge and skills to solve the problem of poverty
The current education system does not focus on providing solutions to alleviate poverty
Singer contends that providing education is critical to everyone to help in the fight against poverty. Education enables the learners to become aware of the level of poverty that has plagued the entire world. It also equips the students with knowledge and skills that are essential in devising the strategies of reducing poverty. Singer further argues that the current system of education that is used in America does not provide the needed knowledge and skills to the students to assist them to come up with solutions for solving poverty in the entire world. The educators have also failed in teaching the students about the poverty, its impact and methods of solving the issue of poverty.
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LEVEL OF POVERTY
Poverty affects both developed and the developing nations (Singer, 2009).
A significant proportion of the world’s population live below poverty line
Illiteracy hinders creativity and innovation
As singer outlines, poverty is a global challenge since it affects both developed and developing nations. The statistics he provides from the World Bank report shows that poverty level in the globe is high. A great percentage of world’s population, especially in the developing countries, lives below poverty line. They lack access to food, safe water for drinking, clothing, education and health care. Millions of people die as a result of hunger-related diseases every year. In some segments of the world, a significant proportion of the world’s population is still illiterate, and this hinders creativity and innovation to fight the problem of poverty.
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COMMITMENT TO POVERTY ALLEVIATION
Most of the developed countries are not committed to offering aid to the developing countries (Singer, 2009).
The number of people that require assistance is high
The little amount of aid provided does not offer much help in alleviating poverty
Singer asserts that most of the developed nations such as the U.S. are not entirely committed to helping the developing countries to reduce the problem of poverty. He claims that these countries offer little assistance than what they are expected to provide. In 2007, the statistics showed that the U.S. was ranked as the country that provided the least amount of aid to the Third World countries. The little support offered does not provide much help since the number of people in need is usually high.
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ROLE OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Non-governmental organizations plays a critical role in fighting poverty
Such organizations provides various services such as food, healthcare, and safe water
Better healthcare improves the well-being of the people
As singer put it, non-governmental organizations such as Oxfam and Unicef plays a crucial role in the alleviation of poverty, especially in the developing countries. Such organizations provide safe water for drinking and better health care for the needy. Provision of safe water ensures that the people remain in good health which is important to enable them to engage in productive activities. Better health care improves the well-being of the needy who do not have access to quality health care.
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SOLUTIONS TO WORLD POVERTY
Education plays a very important role in solving the poverty menace
Ensuring communities get access to education increases human capital as well as income (Klasen et al., 2016)
The acquired knowledge and skills enables people to engage in income generating activities
I strongly agree with singer’s claims that education is essential in eliminating world poverty. Providing education to the communities increases human capital through the acquisition of knowledge and skills which are required to reduce poverty. Access to education means an increase in income and better opportunities. Providing access to education is powerful to both developed and developing countries. The educational programs provided assists the students to apply them in the real life situation which leads to improved living standard.
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CHANGE OF THE CURRENT EDUCATION SYSTEM
The current system of education in the U.S. require to be changed (Singer, 2009).
The curriculum should incorporate issue of poverty and methods of solving this problem
Educators should also teach the students about poverty, its consequence and different methods of fighting poverty (Poverty and Education, 2015).
In my opinion, the provision of education to the students is not enough since there is a need to overhaul the current system of education. The new system ought to include causes of poverty and the applicable methods that can be used to alleviate poverty. Such a strategy would help to equip the learners with better knowledge to become aware of the challenge of poverty and also impart the necessary skills that are required to devise strategies for solving this global problem. Some courses such as agriculture and engineering ought to focus on practicals rather than theory to offer solutions to the problem of poverty. Educators should also teach the students about poverty, its consequence and different methods of fighting it.
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DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
The government ought to develop various educational programs to teach the students how to reduce poverty (Klasen et al., 2016)
The programs should teach students best practices to apply in areas such as agriculture
The best practices would increase productivity as well as income
Development of programs to engage the affected as the main participants (Poverty and Education, 2015).
Working collectively in organized groups
In my thoughts, the government should develop various programs to provide education not only to the students but the public as a whole. Since agriculture forms the backbone of most of the developing economies, the education programs should focus on advising people on the appropriate methods to apply in agriculture. The use of best practices has a potential of increasing the productivity. The increased productivity means an increase in the food supply to reduce hunger. Improved productivity also boosts the level of income to the people and this result in a reduction of poverty.
The government also ought to develop programs to include the affected people in efforts that are aimed at fighting poverty. The people who are affected should be the main participants to intervene. Formal leaders are not the only people to be consulted but it is crucial to engage the victims to participate in strategies for alleviating poverty. In addition, creating groups are likely to help many people rather than working as individuals. It becomes effective to work as collectively as it assists in strengthening people to fight poverty. Thus, the programs should emphasize on working in organized groups to help as many possible as possible.
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CAPABLE NATIONS TO OFFER SUPPORT
Poverty is a global challenge
The report of the World Bank shows that a great number of people in developing countries lack access to basic commodities
All countries with ability to provide assistance should do so to help the people in the developing nations to fight poverty
I support singer’s claims that poverty is not a challenge of one country, but it affects all countries in regards to their level of development. The scenario is worse in developing countries compared to the developed countries. From the statistics provided by World Bank, it is evident that a majority of the people in the world live below poverty line. They lack food, shelter, clean water, and clothing among other basic needs. These people hardly survive on a dollar in a single day, and they are likely to suffer from malnutrition. In my view, all the countries that are capable of offering aid to the developing countries should do so without considering the boundaries. If every country joins others to help the poor, the high rate of poverty around the world would greatly reduce.
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COMMITMENT TO REDUCE POVERTY
Some of the industrialized nations are not fully committed to reduction of poverty
The amount of aid provided is never enough to support all the affected people (Clyde & Karnani, 2015).
The amount of aid provided ought to be increased to support a significant population
I tend to agree with Singer to some extent that the developed countries do not fully assist the developing countries to alleviate poverty. Most of the developed countries have put efforts to offer financial aid to the developing countries, but it is never enough to eliminate poverty. The financial aid provided is meant to initiate development projects that are aimed at reducing poverty. Some of the projects funded by these aids include provision of education, food, safe water, housing, and health care facilities just to name a few. Access to education has increased human capital, and provision of other services such as better health care has improved the living standard of the people. I also feel that the industrialized nations such as the U.S. ought to increase the amount of aid provided to the developing countries. This would help to initiate many development projects that are likely to increase the opportunities particularly for the poor. Other projects in areas such as agriculture would help to increase food supply and eventually fight the hunger in the developing countries in the world.
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ROLE OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Non-governmental organizations are committed to poverty reduction. They provide food, water, housing, sanitation among others (Singer, 2009).
More resources should be provided to the non-governmental organizations to enable them provide services to the poor
It is true that non-governmental organizations are committed to reducing poverty in the developing countries. These organizations provide both financial aid and personnel to ensure the poor get access to education and health care. The amount of aid provided by these bodies are used to put up infrastructures such as classrooms, health centers and to pay the personnel that provides direct services to the people. Unfortunately, the activities of these organizations are hampered by inadequate funds. The number of people that require assistance is high, and hence, the available resources are not enough to support many large projects. I feel that more resources ought to be provided to the non-governmental organizations to enable them to provide services to the poor to alleviate poverty.
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ACCESS TO CREDIT
Governments and non-governmental organizations should provide loans to citizens to help them start income generating projects (Clyde & Karnani, 2015).
It would also assist in the creation of sustainable provision of income to the people as well as developing nations economically
In my point of view, governments and non-governmental organizations should ensure that people especially in developing countries get access to credit. Provision of repayable loans helps the people to start income generating projects which include farming and industries. A significant proportion of the poor population would be absorbed in these farms and industries. Further, it assists in the creation of sustainable provision of income to the people as well as developing nations economically. All these factors have an effect of improving the standard of people in the underdeveloped countries.
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OBGLIGATION
Fighting poverty is a moral obligation (Singer, 2009).
The government should thus ensure all the financial aid is used for the intended purpose.
The projects should for instance serve the majority rather than a few individuals.
I agree with singer’s claims that fighting against poverty is a moral obligation. It calls for the government intervention to ensure foreign aid is used for the intended purpose. The government should ensure that bodies and individuals entrusted with overseeing the development projects aimed at alleviating poverty are accountable. The projects should serve the welfare of the majority rather than benefit a few individuals through corruption. If all the amount of aid are used for the intended purposes, the welfare of the people especially for the poor is likely to increase and hence reducing poverty.
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CONCLUSION
Poverty is a global challenge since it affects all the countries
Quality education should be provided to the students to impart knowledge and skills required to reduce poverty
Government should also intervene through provision of educational programs concerning poverty and ensure funds are used for the intended purposes
REFERENCES
Klasen, S., Krivobokova, T., Greb, F., Lahoti, R., Pasaribu, S., & Wiesenfarth, M. (2016). International income poverty measurement: which way now?. Journal Of Economic Inequality, 14(2), 199-225. doi:10.1007/s10888-016-9324-8
Clyde, P., & Karnani, A. (2015). Improving Private Sector Impact on Poverty Alleviation: A COST-BASED TAXONOMY. California Management Review, 57(2), 20-35. doi:10.1525/cmr.2015.57.2.20
Poverty and Education. (2015). FORUM: for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education, 57(2), 205-208.
Singer, P. (2009). America’s Shame. Chronicle Of Higher Education, 55(27), B6-B10.
