The Roots of Poverty
Remedying only the superficial manifestations of the deeper
underlying problems of extreme poverty will never end poverty itself. At best, this approach will temporarily
relieve urgent problems; at worst, it will exacerbate them or create long-term trade-off problems. If we want to
eliminate poverty, we must look at its roots and apply sustainable, pragmatic development solutions.
There are many popular misconceptions about underdeveloped countries that prevent both politicians and private
citizens from seriously considering solutions. Some people think less developed countries (LDCs) are poor as the result of laziness, mismanagement, and corruption. While corruption and mismanagement do play a role in the
inefficient and criminal diversion of aid funds, they definitely do not make it impossible to conduct successful
development operationsunless, of course, we use corrupt regimes as a justification to not give aid at all.
So what are some of the common root causes of poverty? Each of the following roots of poverty can be eliminated through development projects when they bypass government involvement or develop mutual-accountability agreements
with governments to ensure the best results for the program constituents:
Geographic Isolation:
Geographic isolation actually occurs on two levels: 1) within regions and continents; and 2) within countries.
The first type of geographic isolation generally includes countries that are landlocked hundreds of miles away from
the closest port. These countries end up paying excessive fees and costs for freight to export and import goods. The
other type of isolationthat occurs within countriesgenerally includes villages that are separated from the
rest of the country because of a lack of infrastructure. These villages typically lack electricity, adequate food
markets, and adequate sources of clean water.
Inadequate Access to Medical Clinics:
Most citizens of the Third World lack access to medical clinics and basic medical counseling. This is generally
because governments in LDCs do not have enough resources to sponsor sufficient medical programs. Many LDCs also lack
medical professionals as a result of underfunded educational systems. When people cannot visit clinics
regularly, they do not get the counseling they need to
prevent illness and often end up incapacitated by easily-
curable illnesses and parasites, such as worms.
Underfunded Education:
Many citizens of the Third World also lack access to education. Since governments in LDCs do not have funds
to provide an educational system for all students, they often create unreasonably hard standardized testing systems
to prevent students from graduating; and even when they do pass the tests, they are often held back because there
simply are not enough resources to support them. Without access to basic and vocational education, new generations in LDCs are being severely limited in both future choices
and ability to contribute to the country’s development.
Inadequate Access to Nutritious Food:
Much of the Third World lacks the money and resources to eat or grow a nutritious dietand instead must subsist on one meal each day of starchy local food staples and vegetables. This leads to severe undernutrition in both
adults and children, the often-fatal malnutrition-infection cycle in infants and young children, and high-incidence of diabetes in adults. Many peoplespecifically in certain
geographic areasalso lack the means to cook meals. This causes those affected to choose between hunger and food-
borne illness.
Inadequate Access to Improved Water & Sanitation Facilities:
These two problems are actually intimately linked: in areas
where people do not have access to improved sanitation facilities, they often end up contaminating sources of
groundwater with human waste, which often leads to the spread of worms and water-borne illness. Inadequate access
to improved water sources, such as pumps and wells, forces people in geographically isolated areas to spend hours each day just retrieving water, often from dirty sources. This
prevents most people from getting an adequate amount of clean drinking water, raising incidence of water-borne
illness and general dehydration.
About the Author
Isaiah Hull is the CEO of Social Justice Incorporated, a hybrid business that offers information and news on
poverty, hunger, and the Third World; and also operates a cause related shopping mall, bookstore, and jewelry store which donates 75% of profit to social justice charities. Go to http://www.socialjusticeinc.com to learn more about similar topics or make a donation to charity by simply shopping online.