EFFECT OF POVERTY.....on society

         EFFECT OF POVERTY

The repercussions of Poverty may vary in scale, but all carry a negative effect, regardless of political, conomic, social.

Social

- High Infant Mortaliy and Annual Death Rate.
- Increase in hygiene and diet related diseases , for example cholera, dysentery, tuberculosis etc.
- Increased Crime Rate, since people turn desperate to survive in the face of poverty.
- Increased rate of homeless people

- As poverty sets in, more and more people face greater financial woes - those who already have a roof over their heads may experience difficulty paying rent to their landlords, and those without homes cannot afford a home. This will greatly affect the nation's tourism trade - A street full of beggars and homeless vagabonds is but an eyesore to tourists.

Poverty poses a great impact on the affected children’s development, both physically and mentally. Let’s take a look at some shocking facts and figures. Children from poor families are:

1) 1.7 times more likely to be born with low birth weight,

2) 2 times more likely to repeat a grade in school

3) 3.1 times more likely to have an out-of-wedlock birth than children from wealthy families.

Poverty takes a toll on poor children’s development. For example, poverty causes malnutrition which would affect the development of a child’s mental thinking and healthy body.
Poverty, being a difficult-to-end cycle, will only make the poor even poorer. This is detrimental to a country’s economy, as children in poor countries are unable to fill their stomachs, not mentioning to receive education. Hence, there would be a lack of intelligentsia and educated intellectuals to run the country, and therefore poverty issues will remain.

The Ex-president of United States Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “When I was young, poverty was so common that we didn't know it had a name.”This shows the deep roots and implications of poverty in the humanitarian society which is hard to solve. For many years, efforts were made to solve poverty but to no avail. Poverty penetrates deep into poor countries and renders them poorer and poorer.

Political
- increased risk of war.
Nations that are unable to keep up with world economy, lack raw materials and markets to do so may turn to war in a bid to obtain new markets for its goods, and simultaneously acquire raw materials from the state as well. This, however, is not a viable option - often this will lead to international condemnation, resulting in trade embargos from various countries, or even conflict between peacekeeping forces (i.e. the UN) and the nation itself. Therefore, it can be said that such a move isn't ideal - the negative aspects overshadow the positive ones.

- Mass emigration of population.
In the face of a nation's poor economy and weak rule of the government, the population may seek to migrate to areas with a better-faring economy, where the trade is more profitable, where there is low cost for all. Since the people of such poverty-stricken nations choose to migrate in search of better living/job/social conditions, it may undermine the nation's ability to recuperate from the far-reaching effects of poverty.

-Genocide
This is a most extreme case of poverty, where there has only been one example in history - Uganda under the regime of the totalitarian and brutalistic Idi Amin , army colonel turned leader. In this case, Idi Amin spending spree quickly landed the beleaguered nation to total economic collapse. It is known that he systematically organized a mass killing pogrom of his fellow countrymen. Relatives of the victims were to pay an exorbitant sum to "recover" the bodies, and this was how he kept Uganda's battered economy afloat.

- Terrorism
Through recent years, analysts have been able to point out that politically and economically weak nations often fall prey to terrorism. i.e. Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen . Poverty too is a major factor in explaining the spike in terrorism in recent years. Between the years of 1933 to 1973 were times when Afghanistan experienced political and economic stability. By the end of the Soviet-Afghan War , the country had been ravaged by infighting and devestation caused by the Soviets. Only then did terrorism flourish.

posted by:  shamily:
shamilysaidi@gmail.com
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dodoma    tanzania