Poverty

• Poverty


  Characteristic of being poor, meaning to lack sufficient resources to sustain a reasonable quality of life
• Types of poverty


  • Absolute poverty
  • Relative poverty
• Absolute poverty


  When a person is unable to provide for their most basic needs such as food, water, shelter and healthcare
• Relative poverty


  When a person is poor in relation to the majority of people within their community, although they might not necessarily be in absolute poverty
• Causes of poverty


  • Civil wars
  • Natural disasters
  • Debt
  • Unfair global economic system
  • Lack of effective healthcare systems
• War is expensive and uses up valuable government resources as well as destroying infrastructure and taking lives, all of which makes it difficult for the economy to grow in the country to develop
• Natural disasters such as earthquakes often destroy infrastructure like roads and power supplies which make it difficult for businesses to thrive and for the economy to grow
• Disasters like floods or droughts also hinder a country's agricultural ability to grow crops and basic resources
• Many of the world's poorest countries have borrowed money from wealthier countries, but the interest rates at which the money is borrowed means that these poorer countries can easily become stuck in debt, often owing more than they originally borrowed
• The global economic system is built on the principle of free trade, but this tends to disadvantage poorer countries as wealthier countries are able to create laws that protect traders in their own countries, preventing poorer economies from becoming competitive
• Most poorer countries do not have effective healthcare systems, so the impact of viral diseases like HIV/AIDS is more damaging, as diseases like this stop people being able to work and contribute to the economy and instead become a drain on resources
• Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)


  A Catholic organisation that works to promote development in poorer countries
• CAFOD's four main areas of focus

  • Sustainable development
  • Disaster relief
  • Education
  • Lobbying
• Sustainable development


  Projects that in the long term will allow poorer countries to work their way out of poverty, such as opening health clinics, training health workers, running education programs or setting up savings schemes
• Disaster relief


  Providing food and shelter to those affected by natural or man-made disasters in the short-term period after the disaster occurs
• Education


  Educating people in more economically developed countries like the UK on the need to promote development overseas, to raise awareness and funds for overseas development
• Lobbying


  Working to lobby governments in more economically developed countries to promote policies that support long-term development and challenge laws that do not promote fair trade
• Reasons why CAFOD does what it does

  • Teachings of Jesus
  • Teachings of the Catholic Church
  • Concept of stewardship
  • Emphasis on social justice
• Jesus: 'The second most important commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself'
• Jesus: 'Used the parable of the sheep and the goats to encourage his followers to seek to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and comfort the lowly'
• The Catholic Church has consistently emphasized the importance of serving the poor and is the single biggest provider of charitable services in the whole world
• The document Deus Caritas asked called on Catholics to show their faith which becomes active through love, echoing the sentiment of the Apostle James who said faith without actions was dead
• Stewardship


  The idea that all human beings have a responsibility to look after creation and share its resources fairly and equally
• Social justice


  The emphasis that poverty and injustice are often connected, and that if we really want to have world peace then we must first have justice, to ensure that all people are treated fairly and equally and have access to their most basic human rights