POVERTY

Eradicating poverty directly – as a matter of human rights, to accelerate development and to reduce inequality within and among nations – has become an urgent global priority.  World leaders have agreed on a variety of new initiatives, including  the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Poverty is an issue where local relevance is especially important, for poverty can mean different things in different parts of the world.  Absolute poverty, or complete material destitution, has been quantified by the World Bank as living on less that the equivalent of one US dollar a day in purchasing power.  Relative poverty means living in a considerably worse way than other people in the same society.

Poverty in the Pacific is rarely as visible or as extreme as it is in some of the harshest parts of the world – but that is not the important point.  There are people who are truly disadvantaged and deprived compared to other people in their community or nation, and that defines poverty here.

Recent surveys have revealed large differences in income and well-being within several Pacific island countries.  The Fiji Poverty Report found that 25 per cent of households could not afford a basic standard of living and that the poorest households usually include people who have little education or skills and have difficulty getting jobs.  They often do not have land or permission to use it, live in very poor houses, are often left alone by the extended family and have difficulty keeping their children in school.  Because of the way they live and their poor diets, they become sick easily.  They are also unable to cope with sudden events such as a hurricane, a death in the family, or marriage break-up.  The head of the household may have a job but cannot earn enough from it to keep the family properly.

UNFPA works to reduce poverty in the Pacific by improving access to reproductive health services, including family planning, for the most disadvantaged groups.  Through its technical assistance programme, UNFPA assists countries to integrate population concerns into their poverty reduction strategies and programmes.  UNFPA’s PDS sub-programme will support a number of initiatives that will improve the supply of information on poverty, how it is distributed in countries, and the linkages between poverty, population and development.

Source:          
UNFPA State of the World Population 2002
UNDP Pacific Human Development Report 1999