Analysis
This
article discusses how Australia and neighboring countries are
questioning the future of aid and international development. This
problem has arrived after a series of cuts to foreign aid budgets.
Despite all the substantial economic growth, the widening inequalities
in income is creating a world of "have and have-nots", which government
policies and programs do not reflect. In November there was a
conference hosted by The University of Technology in Sydney, Australia.
The conference was held on how to ensure the world's poorest people
benefit from economic growth. One of the professors at the conference
said that "Poverty and inequality are being overlaid with global issues –
climate
change, natural disasters, declining resources and the urbanization of
many developing countries,". The main thing that people attending the
conference were focusing on, was the announced cuts to Australia's
national aid budget and the approaching end date in 2015 for the
Millennium Development Goals. They came together in hopes of finding
new approaches to ending poverty. Growth in foreign aid would be cut by
$4.5 billion over the forward
estimates to help fund essential infrastructure in Australia. ACFID
executive said that "despite a significant reduction in the number of
people living in
extreme poverty during the past two decades, about 2.4 billion people
live on less than $US2 a day".
Summary
This
article really grabbed my attention and emotions. The fact that even
with s significant drop in the number of people living in extreme
poverty during the past two decades, there are still around 2.4 billion
people throughout the world that live on less than 2 American dollars a
day. This is not only a huge problem, but it really magnifies the fact
that poverty is a very serious issue. When you really look at what the
ACFID executive director Marc Purcell said, you really begin to realize
how many people are still living in devastating poverty. I could never
imagine living on $2 American dollars a day. It would be impossible.
You would have absolutely no way to pay for food, clothes, or a place to
stay, and your state of mind would deteriorate drastically. You would
have absolutely no hope of surviving. At least not in America. When
you look at other countries and the dramatic rates of poverty, you
realize they really have no hope either. People that are experiencing
this level of poverty, have no chance whatsoever, of ever advancing in
any society. They are shackled and chained to their financial
instability. Despite this, the conference heard about promising new
approaches to sustainable
development and key challenges, including how the sector can grow public
awareness and work with the media in a changing, fast-paced
environment. However, none of these "approaches" are truly promising.
They are merely ideas and thoughts being discussed at a conference.
Without the proper guidance and finances, this approaches may never come
to fruition.
