Psychology 201, Section IV

Topic: Poverty

Submitted to: Rev. Dr. Matthew A. Jaiah

Prepared by: Sarahlyn S. Findor

ID#: 29051

United Methodist University

Ashmun, Street
Monrovia – Liberia

July 29, 2021

INTRODUCTION
We can define poverty as the condition where the basic needs of a family, like food, shelter,
clothing, and education are not fulfilled. It can lead to other problems like poor literacy,
unemployment, malnutrition, etc. A poor person is not able to get education due to lack of
money and therefore remains unemployed.

Poverty is linked with negative conditions such as substandard housing, homelessness,

inadequate nutrition and food insecurity, inadequate childcare, lack of access to health care,
unsafe neighborhoods, and under resourced schools which adversely impact our nation's
children.
DEFINE POVERTY
Poverty is the state of not having enough material possessions or income for a person's basic
needs. Poverty may include social, economic, and political elements. Absolute poverty measures
compare income against the amount needed to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing,
and shelter.

HOW POVERTY CAME ABOUT

Poverty' on a global scale was discovered after the Second World War; before 1940 it was not an
issue. In one of the first World Bank reports, dating from 1948-9, the 'nature of the problem' is
outlined: 'Both the need and potential for development are plainly revealed by a single set of
statistics. According to the UN Bureau of Statistics, average income per head in the United
States in 1947 was over $1400, and in another 14 countries ranged between $400 and $900. For
more than half of the world's population, however, the average income was less - and sometimes
much less - than $100 per person. The magnitude of this discrepancy demonstrates not only the
urgent need to raise living standards in the underdeveloped countries, but also the enormous
possibilities to do just this...

Whenever 'poverty' was mentioned at all in the documents of the 1940s and 1950s, it took the
form of a statistical measurement of per-capita income whose significance rested on the fact that
it lay ridiculously far below the US standard.

WHY POVERTY IS HIGH IN LIBERIA

Several reasons are behind the causes of poverty in Liberia. The country has dealt with a 14-year
civil war, and even after slightly recovering, it is still in a vulnerable state.
What are the causes of poverty in Liberia? The main reasons are corruption and government
conflict. Corruption in the government is the major epidemic, infiltrating many of the other
sectors of society. According to Transparency International, low public sector salaries and a lack
of decent training create the incentive for corruption.
The country also fails to utilize its natural resources in a productive way. The country is rich with
mineral wealth including iron ore, timber, diamonds, rubber and gold; however, natural resource
management continues to deal with corruption and governance issues. If natural resource
management can remain uncorrupted, the country can use these minerals as a way to bring in
legitimate funding.

WHAT ARE SOLUTIONS THAT CAN BE PUT IN PLACE TO SOLVE POVERTY

1. Creating Good Jobs

Creating jobs, both in the United States and abroad, is a great way to reduce poverty.
 When people have jobs, they have income, and when people have income, they can more
easily get themselves out of poverty. The U.N. says that “unemployment and
underemployment lies at the core of poverty. For the poor, labor is often the only asset
they can use to improve their well-being.”

2. Educating Women

The education of girls and women impacts the rest of the societies in which these girls
and women live. A woman’s degree of education is linked to the age at which she marries
and has children, to her health and diseases, to her economic opportunities, to her social
standing, and to her general future wellbeing. Educating girls and women can reduce
poverty in developing nations, as well as in the United States.

3. Raising Wages

The United States hasn’t raised the federal minimum wage since 2007. Because of this,
right now, “A full-time worker with two children earning the minimum wage will still
raise his or her family in poverty.” And this is an issue in almost every other country,
especially in developing nations. Raising the minimum wages could potentially increase
the health and wellbeing of millions.

4. Microfinancing

Microfinance is defined as the “supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial
services to the poor.” Right now, only about 10 percent of the global population has
access to traditional banking, according to the Gates Foundation. However, using
microfinance, people who are unemployed or who have a low income could get
small loans to help them become self-sufficient. An organization called Kiva has
provided more than $329 million to 786,000 borrowers, with a repayment rate of 98.97%.
Microfinance is a promising way to alleviate poverty.

5. Gender Equality

As the U.N. Development Programme says, “when women have equal access to
education, and go on to participate fully in business and economic decision-making, they
are a key driving force against poverty.” Not only this, but better gender equality
raises household incomes and “translates into better prospects and greater well-being of
children,” which is a smart way reduce the poverty for future generations as well as our
 own.

6. Transparency in Government Spending

Creating transparency in government spending of money can help reduce corruption in

governments. When governments are accountable to their citizens for their action, or
inaction, in different areas of the federal budget, the citizens will be able to accurately
assess how well their leaders are leading their country. Also, it allows citizens to see if
money is being taken away from poverty-reduction plans and into the pockets of their
leaders, which could be a cause of a stagnant economy or job market.

7. Canceling National Debts

As mentioned by Share the World’s Resources, “It is internationally recognized that the
debt burden of the world’s poorest, most indebted countries has to be tackled if they are
to set themselves on a path of sustainable growth, development, and poverty reduction.”
This is why the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have created
the Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs). The initiative helps with
the debt relief to currently 23 poor countries (mostly in Africa) that are committed to
eradicating poverty. There have been successes in a few countries thus far, and this
initiative can help governments “get back on their feet” so that they can focus on
developing for the future instead of trying to pay back what was spent in the past.

8. Access to Healthcare

The President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, says that he believes “universal health
insurance coverage in all countries can help achieve a goal of ending extreme poverty by
2030.” He says that because about 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty
every year by having to spend money on health issues, and that because health
issues push about another 150 million into severe financial hardship, universal health
insurance could greatly relieve poverty, globally.

9. Access to Clean Water and Sanitation

The World Bank says that access to clean water and sanitation is “one of the most cost-
effective development interventions, and is critical for reducing poverty.” The reasons for
this are that women can use the time that they would have spent fetching water to work
and produce more, agricultural production could increase, and the costs of services and
 goods could go down. Not only that, but because diseases caused by unsafe drinking
water and poor sanitation cause “the most significant child health problems worldwide,”
having access to clean water could significantly lower the healthcare burden for many of
these many children.

10. Nutrition, Especially in Infants

Adequate nutrition is an incredibly important indicator of a person’s ability to get out of

poverty, later in life. Those who are malnourished from the time of conception to 24
months, postpartum “have a higher risk of lifelong physical and mental disability.”
Because of this, they are “often trapped in poverty,” and are not able to make the full
contribution to the “social and economic development of their households and
communities, as adults.”

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, poverty is not just about money, but also includes issues of access to services such
as health care and education, marginalization and exclusion.
However, The UN has defined poverty as: a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic
human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and
information.

Cultures have internal and external elements that contribute to the existence of poverty. Some of
these conditions are tangible and external, like:

 Lack of shelter
 Limited access to clean water resources
 Food insecurity
 Physical disabilities
 Lack of access to health care
 Unemployment
 Absence of social services
 Gender discrimination
 Poor infrastructure
 Government corruption