Causes of Poverty

Causes of Poverty

1. Unfair trade

   • LEDCs are penalised by unfair trade agreements. If they have high value goods to export then MEDCs set up trade barriers to protect their own industries
   • In a global work force of 3 billion people, between a quarter and a third are unemployed

2. Debt

   • When LEDCs borrow money from MEDCs to develop, the interest rates mean that they have to spend more money paying them back than on health and eduation.
   • They become so entwined in a circle of owing money that little attention is paid to other areas

3. Nature

   • In agriculture only 2% of people in UK and 67% of people in India do
   • Some areas have incredibly dry climate which results in poor soils and so there is always a danger of famine
   • Some countries regularly experience natural disasters, which means that vital income must be spent repairing the damage

4. Education

   • Without education people do not have required skills to earn an income
   • Poor people cannot afford to send their children to school. If the parents cannot earn enough, children may have to work instead of school
   • 114 million children worldwide not not have a basic education

5. Health/Disease

   • Often people do not have proper sewage disposal or access to clean water which can result in bad health
   • They often lack the means to obtain the neccassary healthcare. They do not know how to avoid diseases. Poverty is a major factor in the spread of HIV/AIDs in Africa

6. Low Status of Women

   • More than 40% of women in Africa do not have access to basic education
   • Countries waste 50% of their human resources
     • Often the women are not allowed to work, and if there is no man there, they cannot provide an income for themselves and their family

7. Wars

   • When a country is at war, basic services are neglected. People leave their homes as they are destoyed. Farms and crops are destroyed
   • Companies will not build factories or start buisnesses if there is a war near that could destroy it