This document outlines several key problems facing developing countries according to development communication theories. It identifies poverty, unemployment, high population growth, inequality, environmental degradation, malnutrition, ethnic conflict, misplaced social priorities, and the vicious cycle of poverty as major issues. Development communication posits that information and communication can help address root causes of problems in developing nations. The document provides background on each problem area and cites statistics illustrating the scope of the challenges.

1. COMM 104 Introduction to Development
Communication
Mr. Jonas Cadiente Villaveza, LPT
Course Instructor

2. Development Communication (DevCom) Response -
problems are traced to root causes and root causes
can be remedied by information and communication
(Flor and Ongkiko, 2006).

3. Developing countries are faced with problems that are
profound and devastating to human lives. These problems
are identified as follows:
Poverty
Considered as the most menacing of these societal
problems as it brings many other virulent problems.

4. Being poor means being unable to eat properly, to
clothe properly, to purchase medicines when you or your
loved ones are sick, unable to love a dace and comfortable
home, unable to get education, not being able to provide
for basic necessities and being eternally in debt.

5. According to Philippine Statistics Office (PSA), 17.6
million Filipinos lived below the poverty threshold or
16.6% as of 2018. With a global pandemic at hand, this
number is set to increase in 2021.

6. Unemployment
You are unemployed if you do not have a job to earn
a living. You are underemployed if you have a job that
requires way below what you trained for, resulting to a
salary below your worth.
Although unemployment and underemployment rate
in the Philippines registered a decrease in 2019,
unemployment rate rose to 17.7 percent.

7. High Population Growth

8. Seven out of 10 most highly populated nations in the
world are developing countries.
Because resources are limited, United Nations
consider high population rate as one of the biggest
problems the word is facing.
The current world population is 7.8 billion people
according to UN and World meter.

9. Inequality
Not everyone is born equal but everyone must be
equally provided with the opportunity to develop and
realize his/her full potential.
The issue of inequality seems to be an elusive dream
and the gap between the rich and the poor continues to
widen. Consider the following:

10. • The wealth of the world’s three richest individuals is
more than the total GDP of 48 countries.
• The wealth of the world’s 15 richest people is more than
the total GDP of Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The wealth of the world’s 32 richest people is more than
the total GDP of South Asia.

11. Environmental degradation and the loss of arable land
The Philippines is rich in natural resources but it is
poor because:
• 70% of our forests have been logged over
• Agricultural lands are turned into industrial parks of
residential subdivisions
• Heavy industrial pollution affecting our inland waters
• Endangered marine, upland, and lowland eco systems
due to manmade activities

12. Malnutrition
According to UNICEF in the 2019 report that one in
three Filipino children under five years old are stunted,
which means they are too short for their age, while roughly
7 per cent of children are too thin for their height.
There two faces of malnutrition - undernutrition and
overnutrition. The former is prevalent in developing
countries like the Philippines.

14. Ethnic Conflict
Contemporary wars are not waged by countries but by
CULTURES.
Many conflicts In developing countries are not political
in nature but are cases of cultural and ethnic strife
resulting to “Clash of Cultures”.

16. SOCIAL PRIORITIES
Considering the gravity and depth of our societal
problems, an attempt to develop a comprehensive effort to
solve these problems had been initiated by the United
Nations which had resulted to Millennium Development
Goals.
“Misplaced Priorities”

18. VICIOUS CYCLE OF POVERTY
Vicious Cycle of Poverty was coined by Daniel Lerner
in the mid 60’s. It is a situation characterized by:
• Absence of economic growth
• Any advancement is rapidly checked by a counter-
tendency in the social system
• The major counter tendency is excessive population
growth.

21. • Poverty
• Unemployment and Underemployment
• High Population Growth
• Inequality
• Environmental Degradation
• Malnutrition
• Ethnic Conflict
• Social Priorities and Misplaced Priorities
• Millennium Development Goals (2015)
• Vicious Cycle of Poverty
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22. Thank you!
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