World Povery Causes and Role of Foreign Aid - Essay Example

? World Poverty Causes and Role of Foreign Aid Introduction Poverty is a that occurs when there is a shortage of money amongst people, and they lack the basic needs of life (Mitchell, 2007). Our planet is growing drastically as people are striving to seek ideas; the ideas that show them the betterment towards life and towards the development of the nations. However, this development is seen only in the developed countries. There is a strong reason behind it. The developed countries have resources, education and most importantly money. They have all the factors which are necessary for a normal citizen to fulfill his needs. On the other hand many countries of the world are struggling with the issues of overpopulation and unemployment that eventually cause poverty. The cause of world poverty are many but it has been unveiled that the foreign aid provided to the deprived countries is usually not sufficient enough to fulfill their basic demands and thus inefficacy of foreign aid has evolved as one of the major factor behind the world poverty. Everything has a side effect and in the same way, the overuse of these resources and foreign aid by the developed countries tend to leave less for the other under developed countries that then face poverty. Poverty is a problem that cannot be solved instantly. It has to be a combined effort of everyone working together. However, before the solutions, there has to be proper knowledge about the main causes of poverty. There are many causes, big or small, that result in world poverty and give rise to the many problems caused by poverty (Bauer, 1992). Firstly, the main cause of poverty is overpopulation. When there are limited resources and too many people, it becomes hard for all the people to benefit from those resources thus causing poverty. This can be applied to many of the cases such as places to live. If there is limited property, it is obvious that the elite class will get the chance to utilize the area as they can afford it. The ones who are left unsheltered are the ones attacked by poverty. Overpopulation is closely linked to the literacy rate. Literacy rate plays an important role in managing the poverty levels of a country. If there is a low literacy rate, there will be less people to earn and fulfill their demands. The illiterate people are, however, engaged in agricultural activities that can never fulfill their needs for a comfortable life. Illiteracy results in high birth rate, and thus more need of limited resources. The developing countries have more urban areas where the environmental degradation causes poverty as these areas have shortage of clean water, food and shelter (Mitchell, 2007). Another cause of poverty closely linked with the literacy rate is employment. In many developed countries, life is getting too fast like technological based. They use manufactured goods so there is less demand for natural resources. In developing countries, the people employed for the extraction of natural resources need to be highly professional, again leaving behind the illiterate population. Moreover, these employees are paid less wages with which they can only support their basic needs. Apathy is another major problem in poor countries which leads poverty levels to rise. The people feel so powerless and hopeless that they refuse to improve conditions, fix problems and judge between right and wrong. When they see someone in their family or society rising above or trying to make a change, they get jealous and discourage them. This results in tension and suspicion in the society. An individual or a group of people feel so helpless that they start to depend on help from outside and forget about making a change on their own. Ignorance is another major factor as lack of education is the trigger that leads to poverty. The main contribution in the increase of poverty levels is from the government. The government of developing countries has become powerless. The government is influenced by the external influence of rich people who formulate the global decisions and policies. The people who carry out these practices are usually the rich leaders of the rich countries or other global actors such as multinational corporations etc. The government of poor countries faces immense pressure and influence of these rich countries, thus in the global context, a few get rich, while the majority of the people still struggle (Bauer, 1992). Also it has been observed that government support lacks in many developing countries, the reason being corrupt government who fill their pockets with the money of their own people. There are high inflation rates and high tax rates that are not used for the benefit of the citizens. This results in the non-affordability of many of the needs that are fulfilled by the government in other developed rich countries. Moreover, when a community has a high disease rate, absence is high, productivity is low, and so less wealth is created. The more healthy people there are the more wealth will be created which helps to eradicate poverty. There are times when resources that are to be utilized by the community end up being taken over by private pockets. It is because of some powerful and dishonest individuals that the whole society has to suffer. To feed their children, the poor people commit dangerous crimes as they do not get the fair share of God’s resources. Foreign aid is given by developed countries to developing or under developed countries. It is given in a large amount in order to help them fight the major crisis that they are facing. This is another controversial topic with immense importance that does the foreign aid provide enough capital for the developing countries to be able to improve their economic conditions. Foreign aid is specifically targeted on public sector investments. This is to prevent consumption by the government, that is why foreign aid is only helpful in those countries that have good policies and the government is willing to accept the need of change. Unfortunately this is hardly seen in many of the developing countries. Foreign aid does not play a very huge role in overcoming the country’s economic condition completely as the amount of aid is never enough for the whole country. However, only a small minority can benefit from it. Even if there is aid flowing in the country, the government can sometimes be responsible for the poor management because everyone loves to feed their pockets. A poor country does not necessarily have a poor government; in fact the country is poor because the government is rich. This breeds corruption and tension in the nation. Besides, the amount of aid does not really matter, what matters is the good fiscal and monetary policies under which the uses of these foreign aids are decided. If these policies are reliable, then only can success be achieved because of the aid. However, if these policies are unreliable, no matter how high the amount of foreign aid is, it will always be useless for the citizens. At a time of need when a country is facing a debt crisis, foreign aid can help shove the load off. The aid is helpful and can contribute in many ways that the country utilizes it. This aid keeps the economy running and people do not have to fear about losing their jobs. The debt can be repaid once the country makes enough money that it starts to progress independently. This shows how the foreign aid can help in the smooth, uninterrupted progress of the country (Dowling and Yap, 2009). Foreign aid contributes in the growth of military and politics. Military goods are formed and it makes the force more powerful and equipment more modernized. Some of the aid is also given as loan that has to be paid. A perfect example is Dubai, where there are so many debt bills that have to be paid, yet because of the foreign aid; it has become one of the most desirable tourist and business destinations. The growth seems to keep on soaring higher, and thus Dubai has become one of the most visited cities with modern technology and high standards of living (Masud and Yontcheva, 2005). Therefore, foreign aid can be seen as a helping hand for the government of any developing country. The foreign aid can help the economic situations become stabilized. Poverty levels decrease as government grants loan to the needy people. Government takes charge of the poor people who are deprived of the basic necessities of life like food, shelter and clothes. Other problems that can be solves with the help of foreign aid is the problems in the advance use of technology, short of electricity and supply. Such issues are under the responsibility of the government and they try solving it with the use of financial aid. If all the basic needs are fulfilled, the government provides some extra services like educational, medical etc. Programs to increase the literacy rates and to spread awareness about the preventions from dangerous diseases would largely contribute in the struggle to decrease poverty levels (Townsend and Gordon, 2002). Foreign aid has also helped to build new markets in the US, India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Poland which are the new major markets for American goods and services. It has proven to be a smart investment. If government does some work for its country then naturally the overall conditions of the country will become stable and developed. Financial aid is a very useful source through which the government can establish their country thus there should be a proper usage of aid so that it does not get wasted. It can still be seen that the capital invested in the shape of foreign investment can be a turning point for the economy of that developing country. At the same time, it can prove to be not enough for the whole country. This mainly depends on the government spending and policies. If the government is honest and uses the foreign aid effectively, it can greatly turn the tables of the developing country and contribute greatly in reducing the poverty levels. The world is a gift from God and a greater gift is a country that each person belongs to. To protect this gift is the duty of every person, and especially those who are at a high position. Working together to solve the worldly issues like overcoming poverty levels or using the foreign aid in the right method is the only way that the next generation can live a better and brighter future. References Bauer, P.T. (1992). Equality, the Third World and Economic Delusion. London: Routledge Dowling, J., Yap, C. (2009). Chronic Poverty in Asia: Causes, Consequences and Policies. NY: World Scientific Mitchell, L. (2007). World Poverty and Moral Obligations. NY: ProQuest Masud, N. and Yontcheva, B. (2005). Does Foreign Aid Reduce Poverty?: Empirical Evidence from Nongovernmental and Bilateral Aid. NY: International Monetary Fund Townsend, P., Gordon, D. (2002). World Poverty: New Policies to Defeat an Old Enemy. London: The Policy Press Read More