POVERTY.

Umar Ibn Al Khattab once said that if poverty was an individual, he would slice it with his sword. Anyone who has experienced poverty knows how expensive it is -James Baldwin

I could go on and on with quotes and anecdotes on poverty but I won't. Ten percent of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty today. Let me break this down for you. Currently, the world population is at 7.8 Billion. Ten percent of 7.8 billion translates to 780 000 000 people. We are speaking of extreme poverty. Not the hand to mouth or paycheck to paycheck that most of us seem to relate to. Basic needs like food, water and shelter are but a pipe dream to such people. More than half of the extremely poor live in Sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, the number of poor in the region increased by 9 million, with 413 million people living on less than US$1.90 a day in 2015, more than all the other regions combined. If the trend continues, by 2030, nearly 9 out of 10 extreme poor will be in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Poverty is not a consequence of limited global resources, but political and economic injustice. However, the poorest people are almost always at greatest risk from environmental damage, climate change and competition for resources. The effects of the unsustainable population hit the poorest first, and hardest.

Access to good schools, health care, electricity, safe water, and other critical services remains elusive for many people. These are often determined by socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, and geography. The multidimensional view — wherein other aspects such as education, access to basic utilities, health care, and security are included — reveals a world in which poverty is a much broader, more entrenched problem.

Very many CSOs and philanthropists have committed to ending poverty. The Bill and Melinda Foundation is a perfect example. The creation of the Financial Services for the Poor (FSP) program which supports government and private-sector partners in a shared effort to establish financial services for the world’s poorest to use to build more prosperous and secure lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Oprah Winfrey comes in second, with the different charitable organizations like The Angel Network, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, and The Oprah Winfrey Operating Foundation, she works towards poverty eradication and women and girls empowerment. What Oprah, Bill, and Melinda are doing is great and should be upheld. Poverty eradication should not be a one-man show. We all need to pull our resources to help the poor. From scholarships to mentorship programs, different sources of poverty elimination should be explored for the betterment of all. In hindsight, a lot of us are one illness away from poverty hence must do the most to uplift the poor.

I know that I should do something do you?