Poverty affects over 1.7 billion people worldwide and impacts many aspects of life, including health, education, and housing. It can lead to increased rates of violence, substance abuse, and disease. While some argue poverty cannot be solved, others believe that with global cooperation and attention brought to the issue, significant steps could be taken to reduce poverty rates.

1. The Life in Poverty<br />In the world today, poverty is a well known issue we face. However, I believe we do not take it to the seriousness in which it stands for and needs to be addressed with. Poverty affects numerous aspects of people’s lives and we need to take action against it. Statistics say roughly 1.7 billion people live in absolute poverty. That is 1.7 billion more people than there should be. Not only does poverty affect the people living in and personally experiencing it first hand, but every citizen is touched in one way or another by the damage poverty leaves behind. It is like a disease; spreading from one innocent citizen to the next. Some are exposed more greatly to poverty than others, but I believe if we all take a stand together, we can end this matter of concern once and for all.<br /> “Poverty is no disgrace to a man, but it is profoundly inconvenient.” ~ Sydney Smith. Men, women, and children alike are all attempting to surpass this huge inconvenience in the modern world. As a whole, we are not ashamed nor should we be of this hole we have dug over the ages called poverty, instead we should join to resolve it. By falling in to poverty’s grasp, there becomes the potential to affect so many aspects of people’s lives. Health, education,and housing are only the beginning of examples that could be affected through poverty. Health, for instance, is one of the bigger resultants. It is said one third of the number of deaths in our world have been caused by poverty and not being able to provide for basic necessities. Poverty prevents us from being able to feed our hunger and treat our diseases. In third world countries such as Africa this is a tremendous issue. Their money at times is being spent unwisely on purchases they do not necessarily need, like mass amounts being put into weaponry. So forth, the African nation may be considered weak. Being low in money, they cannot properly provide for their citizens. This leads to diseases they can not avert from being spread and with little money, it is difficult for them to supply vaccines and methods of prevention. Education is another imperative consequence. Statistics show that families with lower incomes have higher risks for educational underachievement of children. From this follows a domino effect. Children with less educational achievement grow up to participate in lower paying jobs. This fact is lugubrious. No matter how big a child’s dreams are, their chances of meeting those dreams is low without a decent education. This is heartbreaking. An equally heartbreaking actuality is the housing situation. According to resources, out of 1.9 billion children, one in three are not supported with adequate shelter. That adds up to be about 640 million kids. That is nearly twenty times more than Canada’s entire population was estimated to be as of January 1, 2011. Even in the thriving nation of Canada, homelessness has increased in recent years. In the year of 2001, a census was taken, which concluded 702 600 Canadians were considered to be at risk of homelessness. That is approximately 2% of Canada’s population. Everything considered, one person’s life can be seriously and terminally affected by poverty’s influence even if just the slightest. Violence and substance abuse are no laughing matter either. From every square inch of our Earth, violence and substance abuse are visible. Poverty can be a cause of such. This is true because along with poverty, follows desperation. Some are willing to do anything in order to become free of egregious hardships. Virtually every individual here wants the best out of their life; to live happy and successful. Poverty, however, acts as a barricade against our desires. Some turn to prostitution to solve their predicaments. This form of human trafficking is most unfortunate. No women of any age should have to disrespect themselves and lose whatever innocence they may have left just to gain enough money to make it through the day. As humans, we all have the right to an equal opportunity. Sadly, this is not always the case. In the nation of Zimbabwe, many girls are turning to prostitution as a source of money, so they can afford food. Another instance of violence regarding poverty is domestic violence. It is arguable that as you are affected by poverty, stress levels increase. The question of how you are supposed to meet your essential needs nags at you day in and day out. Occasionally, people do not know how to release their stress, but on someone they may care deeply for. This leads to domestic abuse. On the contrary, that is not to say every domestic partnership experiences domestic violence and abuse when intertwined with poverty. It depends on the people involved, but the trepidation of poverty certainly does not help. Improper drug use is an additional outcome to poverty. In some occasions, it is statistically proven that drug use, drug addiction, and drug trafficking are all plausible responses to situations such as low income neighborhoods having lower quality schools. Through this, a feeling of oppression and poverty may form from being constantly trapped in the never ending cycle of their lives. The reasoning behind these statistics is slightly uncertain, but a few arguments that could be made include the using of drugs allows them to become free of stress, the selling of drugs enables them to make an extra side profit, or possibly they feel like drugs is their only escape. There are so many various possibilities. Economy; the wealth and resources of a nation or region. In today’s day and age, economy is a roller coaster for everyone. As a nation hits a recession, the population panics. As a country flourishes, the entire society rejoices in their success. It is emotionally distressing. Considering this, everyone is affected by the economic situation at the present time and naturally, poverty plays a role in this. With poverty comes less money, with less money comes less purchasing, with less purchasing comes less business production, and with less business production comes fewer jobs, which leads back to the beginning of the cycle of less money. Antithetical to this, is a healthy economy, which has money in motion. In countries like Madagascar, many citizens, excluding the elite, are suffering. Big Western donors are boycotting Madagascar because a man by the name of Andry Rajoelin came into power along with support from military, which in turn is leading to a 50-70% cut in state budgets. Donors such as the United States of America refuse to support an unpleasant leader like Andry Rajoelin, so they cut off all aid going towards Madagascar as a response. This is hurting Madagascar’s economy immensely and is sending the entire country into an impecunious state. It is fascinating how a single man can bring down one country like that; just one instance of where someone can affect everyone concerning their quality of life. Many argue the fact that poverty is unsolvable. That no matter how hard we fight or how far we are willing to go to end poverty, it will not work. Curing the world of poverty is impossible, some say. I, however, disagree. With a little faith and ancillary work, we can make a change. To do so, we must broadcast our concern worldwide. From every corner of the world, we need to make it known that poverty needs to be stopped. Media will become useful during this process. Television commercials, radio announcements, magazines containing poverty help advertisements can and will most definitely grab the attention of people. We cannot be light about it either. We need to be bold and truthful. The truth should not be masked with pleasing messages that will appeal to the population’s ignorant side, but bring out the ugly in what is true. Through this advertising, we gain attention, and with attention we obtain aid. When people realize what is really going on in some places of the Earth, they will share. As a human nation, we do have hearts. As days go by, poverty becomes worse. Even in developed countries like Canada we are experiencing poverty. It is an international issue, but if nations come together we can make the world a better place. That is not to say it will happen anytime soon, nevertheless, if we give poverty the proper amount of concern and attention it requires and deserves, we can limit poverty. Rather than increasing, we can make a decrease, which would be a huge step for us as a whole. We are all humans and on Earth, we all deserve the right to equal opportunity and to live happily. “Empty pockets never held anyone back. 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