Effects of Poverty

The condition characterized by lack of basic human needs as a result of inability to afford them is referred to as 'poverty'. These basic human needs range from drinking water and shelter to basic health care and education. While this condition is also referred to as 'absolute poverty', it differs from 'relative poverty' wherein the affected people have lesser resources as compared to others in the society. Irrespective of whether you take into consideration the statistics pertaining to the United States alone or the world as whole, the causes and effects of poverty have a gruesome picture to portray. Some of the most common causes of poverty the world over are overpopulation, unequal distribution of resources, unemployment, etc. Similarly some of the most obvious effects of poverty, on the other hand, include health problems, homelessness, etc.

Effects of Poverty on Food and Housing

The data compiled by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations states that as many as 1.2 billion people across the world go to sleep without having dinner every single day. Almost all people who live in what the World Bank defines as 'absolute poverty' are affected by hunger and starvation. In fact, child malnutrition - which is one of the most gruesome effects of poverty on children, results in a staggering 15 million children deaths across the world every year. Of this as many as 11 million children are below the age of five years. A significant portion of cases of people succumbing to poverty related health conditions every year are traced to the continents of Asia and Africa. As in case of hunger, poverty and homelessness are also associated with each other. The statistics reveal that a significant portion of people below the poverty line cannot afford to have a proper dwelling, and thus have no option but to resort to 'rough sleeping'. More than 100 million people are homeless in the world as of today, with some organizations putting this figure to a whopping 300 million+ mark.

Effects of Poverty on Health

Around one-third of the total number of deaths in the world - which roughly amounts to 18 million people every year, are attributed to the diseases of poverty. This and other such facts about poverty highlight the relationship between poverty and poor health very well. A newly coined term, the 'diseases of poverty' refers to various diseases which are more likely to affect poor people as compared to their affluent counterparts. It also encompasses those diseases which can result in poverty for people. Some of the most prominent examples of diseases which are more likely to affect people below the poverty line include AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, measles, pneumonia etc. Most of these diseases are attributed to lack of basic health care facilities. On the other hand, those diseases which can result in poverty for the individual include a range of mental illnesses which tend to hinder the ability of a person to work.

Effects of Poverty on Education

While those children living in absolute poverty cannot afford basic education, those in relative poverty are forced to dropout half way into their elementary or middle schooling. There may be many reasons for dropout, ranging from inability to pay fees for further education to shouldering family responsibilities. The relationship between poverty and education also works the other way round, with lack of education being one of the most important causes of poverty in the world. In the United States itself, the average income for a high school dropout is far less as compared to the same for a graduate. The effects of poverty on child development are also seen in the classroom, most often in form of low self-esteem. The fact that children from well-to-do families dress better or have more resources can result in a feeling of inferiority in children living in poverty, which may eventually cause the child to withdraw from the learning environment and indulge in anti-social behavior - thus making poverty one of the most serious social issues we are facing today.

If you are of the opinion that these effects of poverty are only restricted to the developing or under developed nations of the world, the compilation of statistics on effects of poverty in America has a totally different tale to tell. For instance, the statistics on homelessness in the United States puts the figure of homeless people in the country to somewhere between 700,000 to 2 million. That isn't quite surprising if you take into consideration the fact that the rate of poverty in the country increased from 13.2 percent to 15 percent between 2008 and 2009. Going by the current trends (and rise in the causes of poverty,) it wouldn't be surprising to see these numbers soar in near future. That being said, the need of this hour is to concentrate on identifying the solutions for poverty related problems and implementing them.