What Is Poverty?

Poverty is a big problem that can be found pretty much anywhere in the world and it has been going on since the beginning of time. There is no single or fully effective solution to it and it seems as if it is just about impossible to resolve. Recent efforts in international aid have made an impact, but there is still a lot left to be accomplished. Poverty is such a significant problem because it encompasses so much; such as hunger, shelter, lack of health care, disease, clean water, etc. Although much has been done in the way of making an effort to send aid and alleviate some of the problems, the fact that over 1 billion people in the world are currently living in poverty still remains.

In layman’s terms, poverty can be defined as the lack of basic human needs, such as clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, because of the inability to afford them. The World Bank defines poverty as the “pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life.”

            The way in which we go about measuring poverty is by the poverty line. The poverty line is the level of income necessary to achieve the basic standard of living that is provided be each individual country. In 2008 the World Bank came out with the figure of $1.25 to represent the poverty line. These measurements are kept in perspective by indicators. Some of these indicators include income shares, poverty gaps at national, rural, and urban poverty lines, as well as poverty headcount ratios.