The poverty line is an economic measure set by sovereign countries in order to assess whether a

family have a minimum amount of income enough to cover their needs for food, clothing,
transportation, shelter, and other basic necessities. But even though the poverty line is a national
measure, there some general internationally accepted standards that allows further analysis
regarding what living below the poverty line means. In 1995, the United Nations defined absolute
poverty as: “A condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including
food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It
depends not only on income but also on access to services.”1

As it is clear, one of the key concepts is basic needs. Traditionally, those were defined in terms
of consumption goods, and included food, water, shelter and clothing. Lately, there has been a
trend to move away from a mere material standpoint as to encompass access to sanitation,
education, transportation, and healthcare.

As a corollary to this, poverty is not the same in Africa than in Europe, nor is it the same
throughout the years. On the contrary, it has to be taken into account that the threshold of
poverty is higher in developed countries than it is in developing ones, such as Argentina; and, as
the World Bank puts it: “As differences in the cost of living across the world evolve, the global
poverty line has to be periodically updated to reflect these changes.” 2

Having clarified that, let me say a couple of words about living below the poverty line. In
Argentina, the threshold is measured from the price of the Market Basket which is always
volatile because of the high inflation and the increases in public transportation and
healthcare. The current definition of this basket was based on the consumption habits of the
target population, according to kilocalories and protein needs for adults between 30 and 59
and of moderate activity.3 An ordinary family (parents and two children) needs to earn at
least 16.9763,83 Argentine pesos; any monthly income below that amount means that the
family will not be able to eat properly, send their kids to school, be immune to seasonal
diseases, and afford a house or apartment risking to be homeless.

All in all, the poverty line might be a national economic index but it carries a profound
humanitarian meaning; it should be a red flag for governments to enhance their social work,
and a cry for help to the international community.

1
United Nations. "Report of the World Summit for Social Development", March 6–12, 1995.
2
http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-poverty-line-faq
3
http://www.observatorio.unr.edu.ar/linea-de-pobreza/