What Are the Effects of Poverty on Society?
The effects of poverty on society go beyond the individual, both in terms of their neighbors and in terms of future generations. Poverty rarely, if ever, happens in isolation. Where you find one person in poverty, you are likely to find more. It is often geographically concentrated, and the reasons for this are complex.[1]
According to the United Nations, “A social perspective on development requires addressing poverty in all its dimensions. It promotes people-centered approach to poverty eradication advocating the empowerment of people living in poverty through their full participation in all aspects of political, economic and social life, especially in the design and implementation of policies that affect the poorest and most vulnerable groups of society. An integrated strategy towards poverty eradication necessitates implementing policies geared to more equitable distribution of wealth and income and social protection coverage.”[2]
A “people-centered” approach is how the United Nations phrases their solution suggestions. The World Bank says, “Strategies to reach the least well-off must be tailored to each country’s context, considering the latest data and analysis, and the needs of the population. How the world responds to these major challenges today will have a direct bearing on whether the current reversals in global poverty reduction can be turned around.”[3]
So, if we need a people-centered approach that fits a country’s context, organizations need to have flexible models that can work in more than one place. That’s why GFA World created our Child Sponsorship Program. Now working in many countries, the program gets to the heart of poverty issues by helping ensure children stay in school, are supported and provided with essentials like clean water and nutritious food. This lifts an incredible burden off of families so that their resources can go further.
Children who are able to go to and stay in school have a better chance of gaining marketable skills that give them access to better-paying jobs than their parents likely had. Many families have to make heart-breaking decisions about what to spend money on, and school is often one of the first things to go. Children are needed to watch siblings or must work themselves in dangerous situations instead of going to school and growing strong, physically and mentally.
You can help one of these children escape poverty by being a sponsor in the program today. Just $35 per month will help pay for them to have vital help they need. These small but important things are the difference between always being poor and seeing a way out. Your monthly gift can be the way out for a precious child today.
Learn more about the effects of poverty on child development[1] Cohen, Jennifer L. & Desai, Raj M. & Kharas, Homi. “The Geography of Poverty Hotspots.” Brookings. Accessed September 7, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-geography-of-poverty-hotspots/.
[2] “Poverty Eradication.” United Nations. Accessed July 15, 2023. https://www.un.org/development/desa/socialperspectiveondevelopment/issues/poverty-eradication.html.
[3] “Poverty.” The World Bank. Accessed July 15, 2023. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview#2.