Running head: WORLD POVERTY 1

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1 Running head: WORLD POVERTY 1 A Stop To World Poverty Sarah Daoud, Ikra Abdi, Ayah Taha, Alisha Beg Calgary Islamic School Social Studies 20-2

2 WORLD POVERTY 2 A Stop To World Poverty Poverty is defined as not having enough money to meet the basic needs including food, clothing and shelter (Brunswick, 2010). So world poverty is a worldwide epidemic in which people don t have enough of the essential needs to survive, which to this day affects more than half the world s population. Almost half the world over three billion people live on less than $2.50 a day, and 1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty (Shah, 2013). Also, the average per capita income for underdeveloped countries is less than 2000 PPP dollars, the access to water is very limited but when available, it is very unsafe to drink, the average life expectancy is 59 years of age (Borgen, 2017), and literacy rates are about 41 percent (Unicef, 2018). In comparison to this, developed countries have an average per capita income of approximately 60,000 PPP dollars, the access to water is available to the majority of people and is very safe, the average life expectancy is 72 years (Borgen, 2017), and the literacy rates is about 87 percent (Unicef, 2018). This shows the effects that poverty causes to underdeveloped countries, and how different underdeveloped countries are in relation to the developed ones. World poverty is an issue that may never be resolved but people are still trying to get rid of this current problem. There are several organizations which help out with world poverty. For instance, Oxfam is an organization that is currently fighting poverty in developing countries by taking on issues of inequality, discrimination and unequal access to resources. The organization provides assistance during humanitarian crises. Oxfam is also very involved in educating the world s poor about human rights and civic engagement in order to change the root causes of poverty at the political level (Ward, 2017). Another organization is the World Bank, which is

3 WORLD POVERTY 3 made of 189 member countries and five institutions, who work for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries (World Bank, n.d.). One example of what they did was build climate-smart productive landscapes in Rwanda to increase incomes and combat climate change (World Bank, n.d.), and this had greatly improved many economic factors for these people. These are examples of international efforts that have been made, and also shows that people still care and are willing to stop world poverty. It is shown that it could take 175 billion or more annually to stop/end world poverty. Statistics show that there is possibly 7.50 billion people on this planet, and 175 billion dollars would be a quarter or two of each of the richest people s income (Anielski, 2016). In order to stop world poverty, people need to have access to clean water and food, but not just any food; food that they are able to consume and be okay with eating religion/culture wise in this case. There are 805 million people worldwide who do not have enough food to eat, and more than 750 million people lack adequate access to clean drinking water (Global, n.d.). So in order for some change to happen, other countries in the western society need to help out and not just isolate themselves from this issue, and a difference can be made if everyone is willing to try. Since world poverty is a humanitarian crisis in the form of an economic struggle, the best foreign policy options could be placing incentives and developing international laws and agreements. Countries may offer economic support, such as lending loans, offering help, and maintaining trade opportunities in exchange for certain conditions, and a result, underdeveloped countries that may be struggling in terms of poverty could benefit from this. Moreover, international laws and agreements are helpful to those who need set rules and agreements to solve issues and maintain a smooth system. This may be beneficial in terms of an economic

4 WORLD POVERTY 4 agreement, and will also be highly effective when one or more developed countries work together in an agreement to support the underdeveloped ones. Furthermore, other foreign policy tools may not be as helpful as incentives, because placing sanctions is more beneficial to punish those who deem as a threat to the safety and security of other countries, which does not apply to these countries. Also, peacekeeping is more advantageous to those who are suffering from a lack of peace and security due to a crisis. While poverty-stricken conditions can result from these crises, it does not necessarily mean that every single underdeveloped country will regain economic stability from improving peaceful conditions, especially if many of these countries are not suffering from a threat to their peace and security. Therefore, placing incentives and developing international laws and agreements can be much more helpful to the countries that are suffering through poverty. The effectiveness of each policy can differ in certain circumstances. However, placing incentives should be considered as the first plan of action, while developing international laws and agreements should be considered as the alternative approach in case the first method did not work. Since the key concern is the ability of how each foreign policy tool promotes internationalism (how well they improved the well-being of the world community), incentives are more likely to affect the world community in a positive way than international laws and agreements would. This is because incentives offer a much longer and stronger basis in building economic stability, and since peace and economic stability often go hand in hand, a country that receives help [will] become [more] economically successful and self-supporting, [and] the world becomes safer for everyone (Hoogeveen, 2008, p. 228). Therefore, since incentives are

5 WORLD POVERTY 5 more likely to promote internationalism, it should be considered as the initial option before deciding to carry out with the development of international laws and agreements. Moreover, placing incentives can be rated as a much more effective solution than international laws and agreements. Incentives have a very high potential to resolve the issue while benefiting the world community, since they provide an opportunity for peaceful relations as well. If the underdeveloped countries are offered economic help on the basis that they do not carry out harmful acts to the developed country, then both countries will be safer and the economic needs of the poorer country will be fulfilled. Since countries that receive help will become economically successful and self-supporting, the world becomes safer for everyone (Hoogeveen, 2008, p. 228). This is due to the interconnectedness that countries have with each other; when one country benefits and is safe, then the ones depended on them will more likely to be safe as well. However, if the country were to be at harm, then there is a risk that the others will as well. Therefore, when these countries are benefiting, it will create a positive effect on the global community. Moreover, this option is generally affordable and feasible, since it involves a developed nation-state offering economic help. Also, it is culturally and ethically acceptable, unless a certain underdeveloped nation may not like dealing with loans. However, in terms of the other aspects of economic help, there is no setback for this. Lastly, there will only be minimal adverse effects because incentives will only fail when the underdeveloped country decides to act hostile, which is very unlikely due to their circumstances. Also, another factor that could affect incentives are a severe economic crisis on the developed country, where it reaches to the point that they cannot support other countries, and this too is very unlikely.

6 WORLD POVERTY 6 Furthermore, setting international laws and agreements come as a second option against this issue, and this can definitely have significant potential to resolve the issue to the benefit of the world community. Setting laws or agreements can help underdeveloped countries economically. However, it cannot be guaranteed that other benefits will come with this economic stability, such as peace and security or humanitarian rights, and therefore the exact impact on the world community cannot be said. This will most likely happen only when these laws and agreements also include a peaceful relation with one another as a part of agreement, otherwise these impacts cannot be as strongly determined. Moreover, international laws and agreements are usually placed by either nations/nation-states or certain organizations. If developed countries are the stakeholders in placing these laws and agreements, then it is very likely that doing so will be affordable. However, if organizations also desire to do this, then it will be much tougher for them because they have to have an income or collected money. Also, organizations are more likely to experience an economic downfall and cannot always guarantee long-term relations, unless they are extremely successful in an economic aspect. Additionally, it is also likely that setting international laws and agreements will be culturally or ethically acceptable, unless they interfere with the cultural or ethical beliefs of people. Lastly, another setback is the effects that these laws and agreements could have. This is due to many unforeseen circumstances, such a country becoming hostile, an economic downfall, sudden conflicts because of the agreements, countries or organizations suddenly backing out or terminating the laws/agreements, failure to properly agree to the terms, and many other factors. In conclusion, incentives can be rated as highly effective in dealing with world poverty and promoting the wellbeing of the global community,

7 WORLD POVERTY 7 while international laws and agreements can be rated as quite effective in relation to the issue and internationalism.

8 WORLD POVERTY 8 References Brunswick, C. G. (2010, November 25). What is poverty? Retrieved from poverty.html Life expectancy in Low-Income Countries on the Rise. (2017, July 10). Retrieved from World Bank Group - International Development, Poverty, & Sustainability. (n.d.). Retrieved from Poverty Facts and Stats. (n.d.). Retrieved from (2013, December 6). In Rediff Business. Retrieved November 14, 2018, from Anielski, M. (2016, October 20). The real cost of eliminating poverty in In Anielski management. Retrieved November 14, 2018, from Ward, J. (n.d.). Organizations Fighting Poverty in Developing Countries. In The Borgen Project. Retrieved June 8, 2017, from 11 Facts About Global Poverty. (n.d.). Retrieved from Hoogeveen, Margaret, ed. Understanding Nationalism. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., Print.

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