Around the world, billions of people live in extreme poverty. A state of economic hardship is referred to as poverty. More specifically, it refers to the circumstances in which individuals lack certain necessities, such as money and material goods, for their daily lives. Therefore, poverty encompasses political, economic, and social dimensions. Human rights like the right to food and social security are intertwined with poverty. One of the root causes of food insecurity is growing inequality and poverty. The rights to adequate food, housing, health, clean water, education, and others are eliminated by poverty.
1. Access of education for every child
In order to overcome poverty, one needs a basic education. Education determines a Basic education is necessary for poverty alleviation. Wealth and well-being in a household are influenced by education. As a result, the primary factor behind why so many families are unable to escape poverty is a lack of appropriate knowledge and abilities. A good education, at its core, helps a child develop his or her social, emotional, cognitive, and communication skills. Additionally, they acquire knowledge and abilities, frequently at a higher level than those who do not attend school. They can then use these skills to increase their income and lead fulfilling lives. For instance, literacy, which is a necessary skill for higher-paying jobs, is still lacking in many difficult and remote regions of the world. “Nearly half of primary school graduates lack basic arithmetic, writing, and reading skills.
Due to its strong connection to economic expansion, education is the most effective means of escaping poverty. According to a 2021 study that was co-published by Stanford University and Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, “75% of the growth in gross domestic product around the world was linked to increased math and science skills” between 1960 and 2000. According to the study’s authors, “the relationship between the long-term growth rate and the aggregate cognitive skills of a nation is extraordinarily strong.” This is just one of the most recent studies that have been published since 1990 that link education and economic growth.
Poverty can be eradicated with education. It can enable a person to find jobs, resources, and skills that not only help them survive but also thrive. An estimated 171 million people could escape extreme poverty, according to UNESCO, if all students in low-income countries had only basic reading skills. We could reduce global poverty by more than half if all adults completed secondary education. Quality education was chosen by the United Nations as one of its Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. It is common to refer to education as the “great equalizer”: It can make it possible for a person to find jobs, resources, and skills that not only help them survive but also thrive. As a result, access to high-quality education is regarded as a global solution to poverty. Many other issues that can make individuals, families, and even entire communities susceptible to the cycle of poverty can be addressed with the assistance of education.
To support the overall well-being of children living in extreme poverty and to provide them with more opportunities in life, we integrate our education programs into both our development and emergency work. ZamZam Foundation has brought high-quality education to off-grid villages, and engaged local communities to find ways to keep girls in school. A child’s future can be changed by your support.
2. Availability of food
Food is a fundamental human, just like air and water. However, 700 million people worldwide do not have enough food. Hunger is on the rise, and there is a close connection between poverty and food security. More people are chronically undernourished or malnourished as a result of a lack of income and resources to grow food. Food security is severely impacted by population growth, natural resource scarcity, and climate change. A good way to cut down on hunger, malnutrition, and poverty is to invest in smallholder farmers, especially in rural areas where the majority of the world’s poor live. In order for economies to function and thrive, hunger is a crucial factor. When people, families, and children are starving, they struggle with elevated levels of toxic stress and lack the capacity to do much more than meet their basic needs.
Mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder are more common in adults and children who experience hunger, as is the likelihood of developing chronic diseases. Children, who are starving, experience higher rates of illness, are more likely to develop physical, cognitive, and developmental delays, and perform poorly academically than their peers. Essentially, hunger weakens families and individuals; hinders them from realizing their full potential; and has a negative long-term impact on the economy due to high levels of economic fluctuations, increased reliance on government programs, and rising health care costs. Families are unable to afford health care, nutritious food or clean water if they do not have sufficient and sustainable incomes. Consequently, chronic under-nutrition affects one in three children in low- and middle-income nations. Hunger can cause stunted growth, limited mental and emotional development, and even death if not treated.
The fact of the matter is that there is sufficient production of food and wealth to end these scourges once and for all. Despite the possibility of relative poverty and variations in nutritional status across populations, it is a task that is both materially feasible and a moral and ethical obligation. To combat food insecurity and remove the underlying obstacles that prevent millions of people and families from succeeding, policymakers must immediately take action. It has been our mission from the beginning to focus on eradicating the root cause of the problem and we have been working effortlessly to ensure that no one goes to bed hungry. We have a few on-going projects to support the cause and your contribution will be of great value to us.
3. Making employment opportunities
Poverty is rooted deeply in underemployment and unemployment. Labor is frequently the only asset that poor people can use to improve their well-being. Therefore, reducing poverty and sustaining economic and social development require the creation of productive employment opportunities. It is essential to provide jobs that give poor people, particularly women and younger people, financial security and self-determination. Every society relies heavily on employment. The necessity of examining employment as a means of combating poverty is not new. The current international economic crisis is just one of many factors that necessitate taking additional measures to boost employment and mitigate its negative effects, including the rise in human resource poverty.
The creation of new jobs ought to be a central component of national strategies for reducing poverty because of the significance of employment in this regard. Utilizing labor-intensive agricultural technologies is one of many employment strategies that are frequently associated with rural and agricultural development; promoting micro projects and growing small and medium-sized businesses in rural areas. As methods of employment generation, skill formation, and training, numerous strategies encourage self-employment, non-farm employment in rural areas, targeted employment interventions, microfinance, and credit.
Better and more productive jobs, especially those that can accommodate the large numbers of poor workers, should be the primary focus. Investing in labor-intensive industries, particularly agriculture, encouraging a shift in employment structure toward higher-productivity occupations and sectors, and improving job quality in the informal economy are all necessary components for the creation of such jobs. Additionally, providing low-income individuals with the assets and skills they need to fully benefit from any increase in employment opportunities should be the primary focus. We, at ZamZam foundation, are creating opportunities for the underprivileged in order for them to be equipped with necessary skills that will enable them to support their families. We are offering free computer related courses and developing IT labs in remote areas that are fully equipped.
In the quest for peaceful, prosperous, and just systems, the elimination of poverty has been repeatedly identified as the greatest obstacle that international society must overcome. Join hands with us in order to contribute towards the efforts.