15M Filipinos live on $1/day > 영어토론방

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At least 14.8 million Filipinos try to survive on less than US$1 a day, accounting for 1.5 per cent of the people in the world currently trapped in extreme poverty, according to latest World Bank estimates. But some 43 million in the Philippines, based on the country's population in 2000, live on $2 a day, the less extreme international measure of poverty. Data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2007 showed that global poverty rates continued to fall in the first four years of the 21st century, with the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day falling below the 1 billion mark.

Growth, China factor cut poverty

The World Development Indicators 2007 pointed out that an average 3.9-per-cent annual growth in per capita gross domestic product since 2000 among developing countries helped cut poverty rates. Another key reason for the decline in dollar-a-day poverty was China's massive poverty reduction between 1990 and 2004 that trimmed East Asia's extreme poverty rate to 9 percent in 2004. In the rest of the developing world, good economic performance and a lower poverty incidence offset a rise in the sheer number of poor people. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 298 million people were living in extreme poverty in 2004, practically the same as that in 1999. But the number of poor people had increased continuously in the previous two decades.

Inequality worsened despite growth

The report found that, in the past decade, economic growth did not automatically lead to poverty reduction. In some countries and regions, inequality worsened because poor people did not reap the fruits of economic expansion. A lack of job opportunities, limited education or poor health aggravated the situation.
"Growth is essential to reducing poverty, but it isn't the only factor. The WDI (goes) beyond growth and poverty rates to ask how income is distributed, whether health care and education are improving, and to assess the business environment. These factors all affect the quality of people's lives," said Francois Bourguignon, World Bank chief economist and senior vice president for development economics.

Worrying

The World Bank acknowledged that international comparisons of poverty estimates entail both conceptual and practical problems as countries have different definitions of poverty. Local poverty lines tend to have higher purchasing power in rich countries, where more generous standards were used, than in poor countries. Citing national benchmarks in the Philippines as of survey year 1997, for instance, the World Bank report said the percentage of the population below the poverty line was 36.8 per cent.
Rural areas had a higher poverty rate of 50.7 per cent compared with 21.5 per cent in urban areas.

Question
1. Have you heard about ‘poor people have warm heart ’, ‘poor country lives happier than the rich country’?
Do you agree with the idea?
2. Many developing countries choose growth priority policy, what do you think about it?
3. What is the biggest problem might show up in poverty?
Do you think they can solve it by themselves?
4. Do you have any plan about volunteer work either home or oversea?
If you have, please share your plan.
 
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