Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals

Poverty has been defined variously at different times in different countries. An early attempt in 1899 in Britain was based on resources necessary for survival. This subsistence standard definition has been used as a measuring rod in one form or another in different countries. For example, less than half the average income has been used as a measure in Britain, and minimum wage or multiples of it in Latin America, and so on. Unless a proper definition of poverty can be agreed attempts at its alleviation can have no target to aim for. Alleviation of poverty, though championed by political leaders of all types has proven to be difficult because equitable division of the national budget requires consensus which is not always forthcoming when the "haves" control the levers of power and the "have nots" must make do with what they get. Measuring collective poverty on a global scale has been attempted by several international agencies. The definition used by the World Bank is stark "people who live on US $1 per day". According to this definition in the Year 2001 one billion people lived in poverty with consumption levels of US $1 or less per day, and 2.7 billion on less than US $2 per day. Now that more than half the world's population is living in cities, urban poverty is presenting a challenge in most developing countries. Within the physical environment of deprivation there develops a culture of poverty with its prevalence of disease, social disruption, violence in the home and outside, and dependence on drugs and alcohol. In the mind set of the urban poor risk taking behaviour is common. The main victims of Resumo A pobreza tem sido definida de diversas formas em diferentes tempos e em diferentes países. Uma tentativa preliminar na Inglaterra, em 1899, tinha como base os recursos necessários para garantir a sobrevivência. Essa definição padrão de subsistência tem sido usada como um instrumento de medida de uma forma ou de outra em diversos países. Por exemplo, na Inglaterra, uma renda menor do que a metade da renda média do país tem sido empregada como medida de pobreza, enquanto que o salário mínimo ou múltiplos dele tem sido usado na América Latina, e assim por diante. A menos que se chegue a um acordo para uma definição apropriada de pobreza, as tentativas para reduzi-la não alcançarão os seus objetivos O alívio da pobreza, embora proclamado pelos líderes políticos de todos os tipos tem provado ser difícil porque a divisão equânime da renda nacional requer um consenso que nem sempre é atingido quando as "elites" controlam as rédeas do poder e a "não elite" tem que se contentar com o que possui. A medição da pobreza coletiva em uma escala global tem sido realizada por várias agências internacionais. A definição utilizada pelo Banco Mundial é clara "pessoas que vivem com um US$1 por dia". De acordo com esta definição, no ano de 2001, um bilhão de pessoas vivia na pobreza com níveis de consumo de US$1 ou menos por dia e 2,7 bilhões viviam com menos de US$2 por dia. Agora que mais da metade da população mundial está vivendo em cidades, a pobreza urbana é apresentada como um *Invited contribution for the Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development orgamized by the Council of Science Editors. desafio para muitos países em desenvolvimento. Em um ambiente físico de privação se desenvolve a cultura da pobreza com sua prevalência de doença, desagregação social, violência dentro e fora dos lares e dependência de álcool e drogas. No meio urbano pobre a inserção no comportamento de risco é comum. As principais vítimas de privações são as mulheres, as crianças, os idosos e os fracos. Evidências mostram os efeitos deletérios de a criança crescer em meio à pobreza. Ação corretiva consiste em uma tarefa árdua, cara e nem sempre bem sucedida. O despertar da consciência social global provocado pela dura realidade do pobre urbano vivendo lado a lado em íntimo contato com o consumo opulento e evidente tem persuadido líderes mundiais e economistas a mobilizar a opinião pública. Um encontro de lideres mundiais ocorrido nas Nações Unidas, no ano 2000, propôs e acordou Metas de Desenvolvimento para o Milênio. As metas são dirigidas não apenas para a pobreza per se mas também os seus efeitos. A data limite para a conquista das metas de desenvolvimento do milênio foi estabelecida para o ano 2015. Os progressos em torno deprivation are women and children, the aged and the infirm. Evidence is presented to show the stultifying effects on children growing up in poverty. Remedial action is an uphill task, expensive and not always successful. An awakening of social conscience globally brought about by the stark realities of the urban poor living cheek by jowl in close vicinity of affluence and conspicuous consumption has led enlightened world leaders and economists to mobilise public opinion. A meeting of world leaders held at UN headquarters in the Year 2000 proposed and agreed Millennium Development Goals. The goals address not only poverty per se but also its effects. The target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals is set at Year 2015.Progress towards the target has been patchy and depends upon national political maturity. Rev. Bras. Saúde Matern. Infant., Recife, 7 (4): 467-477, out. / dez., 2007 468 Ebrahim GJ Poverty is described as a deficiency of resources that significantly reduces life chances and prevents participation in events and relationships that give life meaning. Such resources could be essential material resources such as food, shelter, water and sanitation, or social resources such as education, access to information, health care, social status and political power. Poverty is associated with chronic hunger and under nutrition. It is also associated with lack of cleanliness and personal hygiene, as well as the consequences. Further refinement of the term "lack of essential resources" has led to the concept of resources "necessary for survival". An early attempt was made in 1899 by Seebohm Rowntree to work out how nutritional intake was related to the maintenance of body weight. He estimated the nutritional needs of adults and children, translated these needs into quantities of different foods and then into cash equivalent of these food. To the costs of foods he added minimum sums for clothing, fuel, and other household items according to the size of the family. Thus was born the subsistence standard which has been used as a measuring rod of poverty in one form or another in Britain as well as in several other countries. Food costs (derived from Consumer Expenditure Surveys) represent about a third of total income needed by families of three or more persons, and about 27% of total income needed by households consisting of two persons in many countries of Western Europe and North America. This does not take into account the effect of inflation. Based on such data many countries have established a minimum wage as a legal standard for payment of manual workers. In countries with high inflation rates multiples of minimum wage are used to define poverty. The Organization for Economic CoOperation and Development (OECD) stated in 1976: But people's needs are conditioned by the society in which they live and to which they belong. Not only do needs differ in different societies but they also differ in different periods of the evolution of each individual society. Beyond mere subsistence is the style of living and prevalence of social interaction. When individuals and families cannot participate freely in social groups and networks they suffer social exclusion. Many nations are thus in fact two nations the haves and the have-nots. The haves exercise political power and when it comes to defining the 'poverty line'are reluctant to give ground (Figure 1). Modern politics is about who gets what, when and [Poverty].... defined in terms of absolute level of minimum needs below which people are regarded as being poor for purpose of social and governmental concern, and which does not change through time. how. The proper task of government is to meet people's wants and reconcile them as far as they can be reconciled within available resources. Minimum basic needs, however defined, has come to be the defining factor in the 'politics of need'. All the great religions of the world give great importance to charity and giving of alms to alleviate poverty. Some even make it obligatory as a major tenet of religion. As nation states evolved and grew prosperous provision was made for the poor. The state's intervention to secure the well-being of its citizens came to be seen the core of social welfare policy. In Britain the Poor Laws mark the first state intervention which commenced in medieval times. Experience gained through their operations and that of charity organizations led centuries later to the creation of the National Health Service, and indirectly to the creation of other social services. From time to time various Royal Commissions appointed by parliament have attempted to link the services more closely to the economic and social conditions of the time. The changing nature of a large modernising society with rapid growth of large urban areas results in major social problems which could only be tackled by the provision of state-based services. A series of legislative acts introduced between 1944 and 1948 form the basis of he British Welfare State. These include among others, the Education Act, Family Allowance Act, National Insurance Act and the National Health Service Act. In the developing world several countries have created their own anti-poverty programmes. The first country to demonstrate that vast numbers can be rescued from chronic hunger was China. Early reports of visitors to China describing declining infant mortality, elimination of under nutrition, improving longevity and coverage with health services including immunization using innovative methods were first discounted as propaganda, and only later caught