STWR - Share The World's Resources

Jaime Porcell, 26th Dec 06, Presna Latina

More than two billion people worldwide remained in poverty during 2006, mostly in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia, according to the latest World Bank figures.

Rather than decreasing, poverty seems set to advance out of control, driven by neoliberalism, globalization and an absurd distribution of wealth.

Inequality in education and social services, lack of public hygiene, absence of drinkable water supply, insufficient markets, large estate, and the absence of appropriate infrastructure add to a deficient allocation of monetary resources (funds).

At least 77 percent of the poorest live in rural areas, but living conditions for 23 percent living in the cities are worse.

More than 800 million people worldwide, including 300 million children, go to bed daily without having any meal.

In the last two decades, life expectancy in Africa fell by 15 years due to poverty and illnesses.

Both the Wold Bank and the International Monetary Fund have forecast an economic growth of 4.50-4.75 percent in Latin America in 2007, based on the claim that an increasing gross domestic product is a synonym of progress.

However, reality is very different, as 15 percent of children under five suffer chronic malnutrition, which is an obvious sign of severe poverty.

At least 128 million Latin Americans earn less than two dollars a day, with 50 million of them in a critical state of poverty, as they earn less than one dollar daily.

Asia is not an exception in this apocalypse of the 21th century, as more than 350 million children live in absolute destitution, 40 million cannot go to school because they have to help their families to survive, and one in every ten die before their fifth birthday.

Poverty increases in times of neoliberalism. It is consolidating even in the US. There is talk of a powerful US economy, but the truth is that nearly 30 million people rank as very poor there due to an unequal distribution of wealth.

In the richest country in the world, one every four African Americans, 21 percent of the Latino population and eight percent of white Americans do not have access to their basic food, clothing or housing needs.

Old Europe is home to 56 million poor people, with Greece, Portugal and Spain as the worst hit by a poor distribution of income.

The pretense that poverty will be wiped out by neoliberal recipes, globalization and commercial deregulation is a baseless speculation, which is being challenged by realities of an increasingly poor world.

Source: http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BEC51F59B-35D2-4E64-9C05-54FEE3E6B154%7D)&language=EN 

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