Global poverty is a serious issue that we often forget

By Joshua Diaz ’27

Global poverty includes the world’s lowest income families in the lowest income countries. Some have to live off $2.15 a day, further setting them and us back. This is a riveting issue related to everyone. As to why it matters to us, the issue is global. Despite the issue having the largest effect on third world countries, it can still affect the more developed countries. Civil conflict, children not having access to basic needs, nor having fun and activities in countries who suffer heavily from global poverty affect families due to just not having money for anything besides the bare necessities.

What causes global poverty is the lack of basic needs like food or shelter. It can also arise from social issues, like gender inequality, race, and an overall poor government. An article from Worldvision.org on global poverty talks about root causes of poverty also said, “Poverty tends to be most entrenched in fragile contexts, which are regions or entire countries where political instability … limit access to the basic resources people need to thrive.” This may be caused by things such as a war or other types of conflict, or corrupt leaders. 

What global poverty does to a country can be multiple things and is dependent on the country. Due to a country having many who are poor can lead to exploitation of those people and their resources. Many of us enjoy a treat like chocolate, but global poverty has allowed many companies like Nestle to exploit those who are in deep poverty, and a lot of the time they are children. Information provided by Foodispower.org shows dirty facts about the chocolate industry that also adds on to global poverty: “Most cocoa farmers earn less than $1 per day, an income below the extreme poverty line. As a result, they often resort to the use of child labor to keep their prices competitive.” This displays how despite the companies having more than enough money to pay more, they pay as low as possible and use child labor to keep their chocolate cheap.

There is a global cycle of poverty as people who lack clean water, education, and financial aid are forced to spend the little they have on those things, keeping them in poverty. This is a genuine issue that can go from affecting few to affecting many including us. We should care for one another and treat each other equally; people shouldn’t be poor because of where they are born.