Poverty can be over in the foreseeable future if its structural causes are addressed, according to a newly-published Christian Aid report. Measures that must be taken to end poverty, according to the Poverty Over document, include a tough new international climate change agreement, greater transparency in finance systems and an end to tax dodging by multinational companies and corporations.
The structural causes of poverty can be traced directly back to human and institutional indifference to people without power by those that have it to wield, and even, in some cases, policies intended to impoverish. “Poverty is political,” the report says. “Rather than being merely an unhappy fact of life, it is the result of structures and systems created by humans, and of people being effectively excluded from decision-making. As such, the solutions must be political too.”
According to Christian Aid director, Dr Daleep Mukarji, “The world is in crisis. It isn’t just financial. Climate change, the food security crisis and worsening levels of inequality are also undermining quality of life for many millions of people. Historically, crises have prompted massive social change. The fear, chaos and upheaval that accompany them can have a galvanising effect. Change can bring with it the opportunity to shape what is to come, giving birth to hope and a sense of purpose. Now is the time for new thinking and new ideas.
“That poverty still exists in the world today is morally scandalous. It’s not that we don’t know how to treat or cure many diseases, enable the hungry to be fed, educate children or create jobs. It is simply that all too often we look the other way from what needs to be done. There is enough in the world today for everyone’s need, if greed and indifference don’t stand in the way.
“Over the next year we plan to engage widely on this subject with partners, supporters, businesses and leading development thinkers to identify the new ways of thinking that can take us from global crisis to global solutions. We want to build both the technical detail of the approach, and also the support necessary to make poverty eradication a reality.”
For further info see
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/policy/poverty-over.aspx.