UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006)

The United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty began in 1997 and will conclude at the end of 2006. This decade was created in order to increase international efforts towards poverty reduction. As we enter the last year of this decade, it seems appropriate to measure the goal of poverty reduction against the progress that has been made. [Source]

Currently there are approximately 1.2 billion people struggling to survive on less than one dollar a day and 840 million people around the world suffering from hunger. Hunger not only increases a person’s susceptibility to disease but also makes it more difficult to work.
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Progress towards reducing poverty is somewhat mixed, with different results on global and regional levels. The United Nations reports that globally progress has been made as the proportion of people living in extreme poverty (defined as living on less than one dollar a day) in developing countries has declined from 27.9 to 21.3 per cent between 1990 and 2001. This means that during that period, poverty levels decreased such that roughly 118 million fewer people are now living in extreme poverty. However, there has been little progress on reducing poverty in certain regions of the world including Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Additionally, in Europe and Central Asia, rates of poverty actually increased during the 1990s. [Source]

Although poverty is usually measured by looking at the amount of money that people have, international organizations are also starting to look at other important factors that influence quality of life when they measure poverty, such as access to education and clean water. To improve the conditions of those living in poverty it is vital to improve access to healthcare and clean water, so that people will be able to live healthier lives and children can reach their full potential.

In addition to the UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, there are many other initiatives to reduce poverty. Another current example is the Millennium Development Goals, which among other things, aim to cut in half the amount of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015. Although many governments have made commitments to reduce poverty, action must be taken by all of us to ensure that we are able to reach the goal of reducing extreme poverty.
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Taking Action
Many people living in extreme poverty around the world lack access to clean water. Dirty water puts people’s health at risk, impeding the ability of adults to work and of children to attend school.

You can take action on this important issue by participating in the Adopt a Village: Clean Water campaign. Visit the “Free The Children Updates” section of this newsletter to find out more about our new campaign to help increase access to clean water in developing countries. By raising awareness and fundraising YOU can implement a clean water program in a poor community.

Useful Links

You can start educating yourself on global poverty and ongoing international efforts to reduce it by checking out the websites listed below.

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/poverty/poverty.htm
http://www.millenniumcampaign.org
http://www.undp.org/poverty/
http://www.povertymap.net/mapsgraphics/
http://www.unep.net/

Map of Global Poverty

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English Translation: In Zambia and Nigeria over 90% of the population lives on less than $2 per day…and over 70% with less than $1 a day.
Top map: The percentage of the population that survives on less than $2 per day (at the end of the 1990s).
Bottom map: The percentage of the population that survives on less than $1 per day (at the end of the 1990s).