Today, one billion people are in hunger, over seventy million children are not in school, seventy million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide due to persecution and violence, and around two billion people have no access to the basic human needs. Every day, hundreds of millions of people are experiencing severe deprivation and suffering.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), held by the United Nations present solutions for some of the greatest pressing issues in the world. United Nations is irreplaceable compared to the other inter-governmental organizations, as different international political orders go along for them to play a large role in maintaining peace and security, promoting international development. Within the seventeen goals, ending poverty is one of them. Reducing world poverty is arguably one of the main global challenges. Although poverty might be seemed as more of an economic problem, world politics greatly have an effect on this global issue. This is because politics shape the distribution of economic resources and ultimately drive poverty in different areas of the world. For an example, taxes are determined by each country’s government, and global taxes lead to moderate inequality. Also, global issues that are related economically tend to figure out a prominent trend, and they are stepping into the political field for solutions. Poverty can be found on both the developed and developing nations, and much of the variation in poverty across democracies can be said that they are due to politics and institutions. Yet, the reason why poverty is the biggest global challenge is because this issue connects with many other global issues, and we need to solve it in order to find solutions for other global issues to be solved too.
Recently, the official approach for this issue is having a shift change to a new one. The previous approach would have included various organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, or the International Monetary Fund. However, now countries themselves can take ownership and manage their countries’ strategies in order to reduce poverty and develop their political and economic status. Governments with different ideologies implemented different policies to fight poverty. In terms of causation, people on the political right think that individual behaviors and community conditions are the causation of poverty. However, people who are politically on the left would think that it is caused by exploitation and political systems. Also, it has become clear that poverty means more than the lack of income, but it is related to powerlessness and lack of services. Therefore, solving the issue of poverty is necessary not only from a humanitarian or an economical perspective, but also to maintain worldwide social harmony and prevent political turmoil which could harm the democratic structure of certain countries.
Thus, this issue -fighting for poverty- is one of the most pressing global issue. It requires collegiality among the developed and developing nations.
I think the United Nations definitely covers a lot of the most pressing issues in the world. They have come up with a set of noble goals which will eventually make the world a better place. The United nations is a large supranational organization which encompasses many places around the world. However not all the countries within the United Nations have been making steps to ensure these goals become a reality. From my perspective and in my opinion the United Nations does a lot of good, but has no real power which it can yield to further its agenda. Ideals are proposed but there is no large substantive action from the majority of member countries following the proposals and the United Nations has little to no ability of insuring change.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the issues which are discussed and the goals of having them resolved are definitely some of the most pressing in the world.
I agree with you wholeheartedly that in order to solve other global issues (such as homelessness) the issue of poverty must be alleviated. It is well known that once the cycle of poverty is broken, other cycle of disadvantages (such as incarceration or a lack of higher education) will also be shattered as well. Although such success can be accomplish by an individual, the greatest chance of this being achieved relies on the political effort/resources available--the UN is an example of such political effort (but rather on a more international scale). With that being said--I personally think that the most efficient way to combat poverty is to concentrate the greatest amount of resources/efforts (political) at the local level, rather than on an international scale. Local leaders are often more aware and knowledgeable of the severity of poverty in the impacted community; thus, they are more equipped to implement solution in the community than a national leader or a group of foreign leaders. As much political and humanitarian effort as the UN have committed in the fight against poverty, the responsibility ultimately rests on each country's political system and resources in regards to the issue.
ReplyDeleteby shamelessfoodie_16.