More To Be Done in
Fight Against Poverty
T
he United Nations established 8 Millennium Development
Goals in 1991 for the world to reach by 2015. The first goal
is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by cutting in
half the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day.
According to the United Nations, the goal was reached years
before the deadline.
While definitions of and perspectives on poverty are complex
and correlations between cause and effect not always clearcut,
remarkable gains have been made toward this and all eight Millennium
goals. Notwithstanding this achievement, some 1 billion people will
still live in extreme poverty in 2015.
Despite the strategic gains made toward the U.N. Millennium
Goals in general, there is still enormous life�defying disparity, notes
James Read and Don Posterski of the International Social Justice
Commission, The Salvation Army's strategic voice to advocate for
human dignity and social justice with the world's poor and oppressed
(www.salvationarmy.org/isjc)
. "A recent report from Oxfam finds that
the world's 85 wealthiest people hold as much wealth as the poorest
3.5 billion--or half of the world's population. The chasm is too wide.
The inequality is immoral. The distance between the more developed
and the less developed dishonors God's equal love for all humanity.
At the International Social Justice Commission, we think about these
things, and try to do something about them. What do you think?"
Let us know--www.facebook.com/SAWarCry
Sources: United Nations Millennium Goals Report 2014, Source:
GlobalIssues, The Human Development Report
35
The War Cry | SEPTEMBER 2014
Poverty-to-Wealth Ratio Statistics
Year
Ratio of Poverty-to-Wealth Level
2013
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
to
1
1992
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
72
to
1
1973
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
to
1
1950
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
to
1
1913
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
to
1
Army Emergency Personnel
Reach Earthquake Victims
in Yannan Province, China
S
alvation Army emergency relief personnel reached
Ludian County in Yannan Province, China just a
few days after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake last
month left upwards of 600 people dead, more than
3,000 injured and about 230,000 survivors in need of
resettlement after at least 80,000 houses collapsed.
Emergency teams worked with local officials to place the
survivors in more than 100 resettlement points.
The Army sent supplies to the hardest hit areas, including
Lungtoushan Township and Huodehong Village. A relief team
reached Shuimo Township and Longshu Village five days after
the quake to distribute relief supplies, despite landslides caused
by torrential rain and
aftershocks and the
threat of flooding. The
first supplies included
noodles, sausages and
children's books. A
second round of supplies
included 300 bags of
rice and 100 barrels
of cooking oil.
The Army sent social workers from Hong Kong to form
counseling teams to help children, many of whom are suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder. Relief efforts also include
assisting schools in the disaster area so children can return to
classrooms in September.
In addition to using funds donated for the relief effort, the
Army is also applying for funding from the Chinese Government's
Disaster Relief Fund so it can carry out a large-scale relief plan.
-- IHQ Communications
80%
of
World
Population
live on less than $10 a day.
2.8
Billion
People
(nearly half the global pop.) live on less than $2.50 a day.
1.3
Billion
People
live on less than $1 a day, compared to 1.91 billion in 1990.
2.1
Billion
Children
worldwide live in poverty.
EARTHQUAKE AID
MILLENNIUM GOALS
20%
of Global
Population Control 90% of Wealth