1

Bryant Dickson

English 1110.01

Dr. Don Langford

October 10th,2017

Analytical Research Essay

How Big of an Issue is Global Poverty?


Imagine if going to school was never an option. If reading and writing became a rarity to

many countries and regions across the world. If you barely had enough money to get by each

day, life becoming more and more strenuous? Sadly, this is the case with many people that live

in third world countries. They struggle every day to come up with money because they have

limited skills due to illiteracy. Because their access to schools are very limited, citizens don’t

learn to read or write, making their daily lives much harder. According to the new Human

Poverty Index and Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, the world’s population that is now

currently impoverished is at approximately 1.6 billion people (Basu). In addition, according to

UNESCO, one in four young people in developing countries cannot read or write (Provost).

These three factors of illiteracy, poverty, and lack of access to education menace many aspects

of our society, but not only that, it effectively cripples the people who live in such poor

countries leaving them without hope and want for change. They fall into a deep rut and their

life becomes something of strain and stress, rather than of happiness and success.
 2

One of the greatest examples of such a culture is in India. Although they, as of late have

been growing more modern and advanced in terms of society and technology, there is still a

great burden to bear on the shoulders of everyday Indian citizens. The World Bank

organization’s profile on India’s poverty lists 1 in every 5 Indians is in poverty. In fact, 80% of

their impoverished peoples live in rural settings which make it almost impossible for such a vast

number of people to reach school houses and locations of higher learning (Maitreyi). Along with

inadequate access to schools and the major issue of world poverty in India, 45% of those

considered poor are also illiterate (Maytreyi). In turn, this illiteracy is what gives India the

largest population in the world with 287 million. The effect not being able to read or write has

on their daily lives is immense. It becomes much harder to find jobs, raise kids and even to find

marriage. Once finding work becomes difficult, your income becomes capped due to inability to

work higher paying jobs. Earning smaller wages causes an inability to provide for families and

loved ones. According to Cry.gov, over 10.1 million kids in India undergo child labor and in

parts of the country, more than half of the child population is engaged in labor. In addition, the

caste system that is in place keeps people locked into their current status, which usually is in a

lower caste. This prevents future generations from even having an opportunity to excel and

reach another social class. Education gives the power to the people to turn their lives around.

The people of India are witnessing a boom that has only been seen several times throughout

history and it could soon align itself with the “industrial revolutions” of Britain and America, this

would most certainly contribute to a greater sense of wealth to be distributed so that those

without might gain, and those without much might be more willing to give.
 3

Yet, in a country such as the Philippines we see some of the same instances, but with

different variables. The rural population was where a majority of the poor lived and tried to

make ends meet, but in the past 5 years they’ve been encountering a great resurgence of

poverty in the urban centers and it is beginning to affect the abilities of the people (Basu). The

current poverty rate in the Philippines is about 19.2 percent of the population. That number is

staggering considering that 10 years ago the number was about 14.7 percent, according to

usaid.gov. These systemic issues stem from a lack of higher education because of the

government not being able to keep up with the demographic boom in the cities, but also

because the Philippines has been a substantially poor country for generations, because of war,

terrorism, lack of education, and subjugation of the native Filipinos. Families have little to no

access to water, electricity, and sanitation services. Even though the Philippine government

provides direct assistance through social protection programs, the poverty rates have

continued to increase. This is not to say that simply because they cannot solve the problem at

hand without ease, that it is an impossibility and they are ignorant to attempting to solve it,

which they are not. The United States government and their liaisons to the country admit that

although it is not a sparkling utopia it has the possibility to be something much greater than it

seems to be. Without help in the near future, more and more Philippine citizens will feel the

growing reach of poverty. The increasing poverty rate isn’t a reason to give up hope however.

Simply because the cities are not flourishing now, does not mean that they will never become

something more modern, and that the people of the Philippines will begin to rapidly advance

their country so the people will become literate, educated, and crawl out from under the

poverty that once dragged them down.

 4

ls might look in a place where presumably there is no poverty, no starvation, and no

homelessness. If one looks in his own backyard we can see that even a nation as great as

America can contain mass amounts of poverty and homelessness. The University of California,

Davis, performed a study through their college so that Americans and the government might be

able to comprehend the overwhelming statistics in a much better way. The college states that

the official poverty line in 13.5% which falls in line with the Census of 2015 (Crum). There are 43

million Americans who live deep in poverty, that is not a small number, as a statistic it is nearly

1/6 of the entire population, but in reality, it is hordes of people who were subjugated and fell

victims to circumstance. We see the government has stepped back from powerful programs

used during LBJ’s Great Society and that the weed of poverty and bitterness has once again

taken root in America. Alongside these startling statistics we find that 32% of adults only read

at a 5th grade level and that 19% of high schoolers cannot even read at all (Crum). In short 14%

of the population can hardly read and this leads us to the mass of student debt. Those who

cannot read their own homework or assignments cannot be thought of to take care of their

own financials bills and means of achieving the funds to pay them off. As Americans, we should

stand in solidarity to help aid one another so we can make America a greater place, re-enact

these large social works programs, and pull ourselves out of the last little stronghold of

ignorance in America. After we eradicate that, there will be nothing that even the most average

American will not be able to do. We simply must enlist the government and show them that

change is something that must be given, because without it we face falling to the very back of

all wealthy and educated nations.

 5

To contrast, one could take a look at countries that have greatly improved their state of

living. In a country like Brazil that used to be famous for its high illiteracy rates, changes can be

made to improve their state of being. Now Brazil has become the role model for poverty

reduction. By creating the world’s first global center for poverty reduction called World

Without Poverty, Brazil has cut its poverty rate by more than half (from 9.7% to 4.3%). WWV is

a conditional cash transfer program through which parents receive a fixed monthly stipend (in

exchange for sending their children to school and complying with different health checkups)

(Ceratti). With decreasing poverty rates, the quality of life in Brazil has increased tenfold.

According to oecdbetterlifeindex.org, Brazil is now above average in quality of life and social

connections. Brazil has gone from a rating of 4.9 to 6.1 on the scale of life satisfaction and well-

being. There is now a strong sense of community in Brazil. However, Brazil is still lacking in the

education department. In Brazil, only 46% of adults have completed high school, while the

average Brazilian student’s education level ranks lower than the average for developed

countries. This goes to show that while sometimes poverty and education go hand in hand, that

is not always the case.

China is known an international powerhouse when it comes to technology and its

amazing economy. But, China has shown to have another great formula for poverty reduction.

China has brought over 600 million of its citizens out of poverty through an increase in food

production and smart investments. By investing in agriculture and implementing it throughout

the nation, China has greatly reduced its poverty rates over the past 30 years. All the way down

to about 5% (Shih). This process allowed farmers to keep more of their profits, while bringing in

foreign funding. With this booming economy, the Chinese government is pushing to improve
 6

the living standards of its citizens. The level of education in China is still top of the line and

China’s booming economy has only helped. According to ABC News, China still ranks number 1

in reading, math, and science worldwide. With a low poverty rate and a great education system,

naturally the quality of life for Chinas citizens is good. According to uschina.edu, China’s GDP

(gross domestic product) is growing exponentially each year. GDP measures standard of living,

economy, and many other variables. The key to all of this is the increase in education of young

women. According to scmp.org the last 30 years, China has raised its education rate for young

females from 37% to 49% (Bruce.)

The issue of global poverty is a longstanding problem that has no guidelines to find a

solution. Countries could try to follow China’s formula and invest within to find a solution. But

that could prove difficult if the country doesn’t have the resources within to thrive and produce

exports. They could be guided by Brazil’s WWV plan and supply its people with funds in order to

help them get started. But people may very well become reliant on programs like these, and

won’t be able to fend for themselves without them. Using China’s methods seems to be the

best way to go considering just how much their poverty rates have decreased while maintaining

an increasing education rate.

 7

Works Cited

Basu, Tanya. “How Many People in the World Are Actually Poor?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 19

June 2014, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/weve-been-measuring-the-number-of-

poor-people-in-the-world-wrong/373073/.

Bruce, Mary. “China Debuts at Top of International Education Rankings.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 7

Dec. 2010, abcnews.go.com/Politics/china-debuts-top-international-education-

rankings/story?id=12336108.

Ceratti, Mariana. “How to Reduce Poverty: A New Lesson from Brazil for the World?” World

Bank, 22 Mar. 2014, www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/03/22/mundo-sin-

pobreza-leccion-brasil-mundo-bolsa-familia.

Crum, Maddie. “The U.S. Illiteracy Rate Hasn't Changed In 10 Years.” The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 6 Sept. 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/illiteracy-

rate_n_3880355.html.

Matias, Maitreyi, et al. “Main Report.” Perspectives on Poverty in India , The World Bank, 5 May

2011, www.documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/103691468041447795/Main-report.

Provost, Claire. “One in Four Young People in Developing Countries Unable to Read, Says

UN.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 28 Jan. 2014,

 8

www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jan/29/illiteracy-education-young-

people-developing-countries.

Shih, To Han. “China's Formula to Reduce Poverty Could Help Developing Nations.” South China

Morning Post, 28 Mar. 2013, www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1202142/chinas-

formula-reduce-poverty-could-help-developing-nations.

Oxfamadmin. “10 Facts on Illiteracy in India That You Must Know.” Oxfam India, 3 Nov. 2016,

www.oxfamindia.org/education/10-facts-on-illiteracy-in-India-that-you-must-know.

“Statistics of Underprivileged Children in India.” CRY, www.cry.org/statistics-on-children.

“Extreme Poverty in the Philippines.” U.S. Agency for International Development,

www.usaid.gov/frontiers/2014/publication/section-1-extreme-poverty-philippines.

“Brazil.” OECD Better Life Index, www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/brazil/.

 9

“Measuring Living Standards with GDP per Capita.” US-China Today: Measuring Living

Standards with GDP per Capita,

www.uschina.usc.edu/w_usct/showarticle.aspx?articleID=18543&AspxAutoDetectCooki

eSupport=1.