Tuesday, April 26, 2011

poverty amidst plenty

In a world that takes a pride in plenty, prosperity and progress, millions of people remain chronically undernourished and food insecure; a little over billion live on the equivalent of less than a dollar per day. Many people don't have enough to eat to keep them on an even keel. That means that they are in a state of hunger - chronic or transitory.

The economist Kausik Basu contends that total income (in 1998) of Hollywood's richest 50 individuals would exceed the total income of Burundi's entire population of 7 million. If Bill Gates decided to encash and consume the increase in the value of his total assets that he reaped over the past year, he would be able to consume more than the total annual consumption of the 60 million people of Ethiopia.

About 925 million don't have enough to eat - more than the population of the USA, Canada, and European Union. 98%of world's hungry live in developing countries - 65% living only in seven countries: India, China, DRP Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. Women make up a little over half of the world's population but they account for 60 per cent of world's hungry.

“More poor people are suffering and more people could become poor because of high and volatile food prices. We have to put food first and protect the poor and vulnerable, who spend most of their money on food,” World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said.

The World Bank estimates than an additional 44 million people have come below the $1,25 dollar extreme poverty line since June 2010. A further 10% increase in food prices could lead to 10 million people falling into poverty, and a 30% increase could increase poverty by 34 million people.

India, the world’s second largest wheat producer, is always surplus but despite that millions of poor people in the country continued to suffer from hunger and poverty.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Documentary - "Capitanes de la Arena" is inspired by the novel written by Jorge Amado 80 years ago, the film shows the same dramatic conditions in which thousands of children still live in the city of Salvador de Bahi a, Brazil, as well as it shows the efforts made to give these children a better life. We get close to them, transmitting their personal, risky and unsettling testimonies. The eye of the camera catches the everyday realities of these vulnerable characters involved in terrible things such as prostitution or crack.

To watch please visit - http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/5544