Freedom from Poverty is Freedom from Hunger

Author: K.Mohan alias Mohan SanjeevanEvent and Broadcast Organizer, India, Astronomylive.com, Founder president: Space Tourism Ventures, India Editor: Journal of environmental NanoTech

The well known three basic amenities needed in lifeFood , clothes and shelter are invariably the three basic amenities needed for leading the life. It is our duty that to see that all get these when we ourselves are blessed with all these as there are underprivileged people around us still to get these basic amenities properly

Why Food is the foremost amenity needed?

We need food for physical survival and well being. There is one reminder to all of us called hunger daily and three times a day. The reminder is from our stomach! Informing us , hey, here I am take care of me!

Of the three basic amenities food, clothes and shelter, food is the most essential amenity. The food is directly required for physical existence and survival as living beings while the other two amenities are also required for a decent and safe living. Though all are supposed to make a

living we find some unfortunate sections of the society in every part of the world and in some famine hit countries like the African countries. Many voluntary organizations, the Govts. Concerned ,the philanthropic public and person all work together to feed the hungry people. Feeding first those who are hungry is a first priority and then there is the need to provide them the livelihood to feed for themselves as no one remains hungry without eating if they have the resources to make the food themselves.

I have first hand experience of voluntary organizations feeding the poor in various places. In Tamil Nadu also there is a scheme to provide noon meal every day at the temple and in some places in india provide free meals all through the day each day for those who don’t get to eat food.

Apart from focus on feeding the poor the livelihood generation programs like imparting training on small earning petty works like carpentary, painting, electrical works and other white collar jobs too have to be taken up in a

big way all concerned should come forward to provide employment to them

The presentation will focus on the work done and to be done by all concerned to free the people from poverty to free them from hunger permanently

First fight the hunger with more nutrition with less expense concept

Sahra and child at Dadaab refugee camp (Copyright: Lydia Wamala)

This is an account of somalian experience or experiment where somalian refugee mothers and their children were distributed with Plumpy Sup a peanut-based paste packed with essential vitamins and minerals, Plumpy'Sup is

used to treat children diagnosed with moderate malnutrition. It works well if taken alongside other foods. Families with sick children at Dadaab camp in Kenya.receive seven packs every week. "It's portable and ready to use. Families don't need to incur the cost of firewood to cook it. It's easy to handle and therefore the risk of getting diarrhea and other hygiene-related diseases is reduced. Babies like the taste of the paste. The nutrition content is high – it provides iron, protein and 500 kilocalories per child per day.”

This type of less expensive and ready to use nutritional packs served by World Food Programme is to be taken note of in addressing hunger in places of poverty

Now focusing on poverty itself: What is poverty actually?Poverty is the deprivation of food, shelter, money and clothing that occurs when people cannot satisfy their basic needs. Poverty can be understood simply as a lack of money, or more broadly in terms of barriers to everyday life.

So here we can see that food is one of the listed basic amenities linked with poverty. The inability to have resources and income to buy or make food is a direct fall out of poverty.

Poverty reduction,poverty alleviation and poverty eradication. Poverty reduction and alleviation is helping those in poverty help them with resources and or help in raising resources. Poverty eradication is the ultimate goal in addressing the hunger problem.

In fighting poverty, governments and government-based international organizations such as the World Bank and U.N. can only go so far. In many countries, major work of anti-poverty work is done by non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, which are non-profit organizations engaged in humanitarian and development work around the world. If we look around , we shall see NGOs Grameen Bank, ACCION, and Unitus, to name a few. However,

there are thousands and thousands of NGOs based around the world fighting poverty.

What NGOs do to fight poverty?

NGOs work to accomplish many different tasks. A broad definition of an NGO would include everything from a humanitarian/development organization also called non-profits such as CARE an advocacy group for a political cause. For our purpose we restrict ourselves to those NGOs that work, in some way, to alleviate poverty through clear action and there are ‘foundations’ which provide funding to NGOs, but do not engage in direct fight against poverty themselves. Of the NGOs that work to end poverty there is vast variation in the type of work they are engaged in.. Some are microfinance institutions which provide financial services as loans to the poor. Others assist communities in providing clean water, or improving health/ Some help in the education sector… the possibilities and ways of NGOs trying to make a dent in poverty are endless. They are often more effective than government-run programs

We can see from here that the organizations either directly fight against poverty in addressing hunger directly or provide help in making available shelter, clothing, education, finances, health etc., to the poor so they can use the available resources to buy or make food themselves.

Some organizations working towards poverty relief

We look at some of the organizations in poverty relief and eradication, These are global level organizations. So studying them will give an understanding of the factors involved in poverty and idea of how to go about poverty reduction, alleviation and eradication.

Bangladesh Relief Fund:Founded in 2004, and works to decrease poverty, especially in the country of Bangladesh. This raises funding mainly in the U.S., and then uses these funds to work with other NGOs in Bangladesh in development projects to create jobs and lift families out of poverty. So far this has financed several projects, including a fishery, a chicken farm, and a cow-lending microcredit operation.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation:Founded by Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates, is the world’s largest private charity organization with an endowment of $28 billion Taking special interest in health programs The Gates Foundation gives out $6 billion in grants each year. The WHO’s annual budget is only $1.65 billion especially cutting-edge, innovative projects that work to fight diseases in new ways.

The Foundation funds programs to prevent and treat many of the worst infectious diseases, including AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and diarrhea. It also helps improve child health and nutrition in developing countries.

CARE International:CARE, one of the largest relief organizations in the world founded in the United States in 1945 to assist World War II refugees in Europe (CARE’ stands for ‘Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe’) now engages mainly in programs to end poverty. It works in over 70 countries, and is based in Brussels, Belgium. It is also subdivided into 11 ‘member organizations,’ such as CARE USA, CARE Japan, and CARE UK.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria:The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria is a major player in funding health programs in many impoverished countries. It has given out billions of dollars in grants to more than 150 programs in 93 countries Itdoes not actually conduct health programs itself, it works with many other humanitarian organizations like the WHO, the Stop TB Partnership, UNICEF, and the Roll Back Malaria campaign, to name a few.

Global Program Against Corruption:GPAC is the United Nation's main fighting force against corruption. GPAC has conducted anti-corruption campaigns in 12 countries since 1999. In 2003, it modified its strategies to reflect the new United Nations Convention against Corruption, the primary U.N. anti-corruption legislation. GPAC focuses on strengthening the integrity of courts and disseminating technical information to local officials who are combating corruption.

Grameen Bank:Grameen Bank, a microfinance institution working in Bangladesh, was one of the pioneers of microcredit, along with the Latin American non-governmental organization ACCION International. Grameen Bank was founded by Muhammad Yunus, often called the 'inventor' of microcredit, and serves millions of poor Bengalis, especially women.

Human Rights Watch:The Human Rights Watch (HRW) focuses its attention not on poverty directly, but on human rights around the world. However, this indirectly helps fight poverty. Founded in 1978, originally to monitor human rights abuses in former Soviet countries. it has become the largest U.S.-based human rights organization, with over 150 dedicated staff who travel the world, sometimes setting up temporary country offices, to document human rights abuses. HRW spends more than $21 million a year, advocating for equal rights, better governance, and HIV/AIDS awareness (it also helps protect the rights of people who are unfairly treated because they have AIDS or work with those who have AIDS), to name a few of its many program areas.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development:The IBRD was created in 1945, and eventually became one of the first members of the World Bank Group. Unlike many other organizations in the World Bank, the

IBRD focuses its lending on middle-income countries, rather than extremely poor ones.

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes:The ICSID was created by the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States in 1966. It is responsible for mediating arguments between foreign investors and the governments of poor countries receiving investments (such as FDI).

International Development Association:Established in 1960, is the branch of the World Bank giving loans to the poorest nations on earth. Unlike loans from the IBRD, loans from the IDA are completely interest-free. Of the 2.5 billion people in the 84 countries eligible for IDA assistance (the country must have a per capita income of less that $965 per year), 1.5 billion live on less than $2 a day.

International Finance Corporation:In 1956, the IFC was created to help private businesses in developing nations. It provides funding, expertise, and technical help to businesses in poor countries. This helps the country create a sustainable private sector and allows businesses to compete in international markets, create jobs, and improve the quality of life.

International Monetary Fund:Founded in 1944. it is primarily in charge of managing the global financial system, it does have some programs geared toward poverty relief. Using its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program, the IMF evaluates countries and determines whether they are eligible for loans. To receive loans, countries submit Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) that are reviewed before loans are granted. Currently, 78 countries are eligible for IMF loans (countries must meet several conditions to be eligible for aid. The primary requirement is that the country must have a per-capita gross national income of less than $895).

Jubilee Debt Campaign:The Jubilee Debt Campaign is a campaign directed toward the governments of developed nations. It aims for debt relief for developing nations, and believes that debt relief can allow funds to go toward better use, decreasing poverty. The Jubilee Debt Campaign was originally known as the 'Jubilee 2000' campaign.

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency:Founded in 1988 as latest addition to the World Bank – and focuses on promoting foreign investment in developing countries. It acts as a negotiator, finding projects that need funding and then encouraging foreign sources to invest in them. It also provides ‘insurance’ to foreign investors to protect against such events as political failures in poor countries where FDI is directed.

One Campaign/Make Poverty History:The American 'ONE Campaign' and British 'Make Poverty History Campaign' are partners in a global effort to raise awareness of poverty. The campaigns are primarily aimed toward teenagers and young adults, and have the support of many celebrities, including Bono, Mos Def, Brad Pitt, and Tom Hanks. In addition to awareness, both campaigns aim to increase the amount of development aid given out by industrialized nations to developing nations.

Oxfam:Oxfam, based in Oxford, England (Oxfam’s name comes from its telegraph address – OXFAM), is dedicated to fighting poverty and improving the lives of people across the globe. Like many other large NGOs, it is split into several organizations across several developed countries (in Oxfam’s case, 12). Oxfam works in 70 countries in many different poverty-related areas – gender equality, education, trade, debt relief, HIV/AIDS, etc.

Save the Children:Save the Children was founded in 1919, in England, to help children suffering from the aftermath of World War I. Now, there are ‘Save the Children’ organizations in 27 countries, which together form the International Save the Children Alliance. This Alliance works in 110 countries to help children around the world live better lives, conducting activities in many sectors – from education to HIV/AIDS to emergency relief work.

United Nations:The United Nations is an international body of global governments. While it is concerned with much more than just poverty, it has put a significant amount of energy into bringing the issue into the global arena. An example of this is the creation of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, which address some poverty issues. Most of the United Nation's work on poverty is done in various sub-organizations.

UNAIDS:UNAIDS is a collection of various organizations (while most are UN organizations, others, such as the World Bank, are also involved) that work together to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is sweeping the globe.

UNCDF:The UNCDF (United Nations Capital Development Fund), works in developing countries to help impoverished people to gain financial knowledge and be able to better manage and use their money. UNCDF works extensively with microfinancing operations, and has seen excellent results. UNCDF tries to create microfinance opportunities in areas where there is a lack of organizations conducting microfinance activities.

UNDP:The UNDP works all over the world – 166 different countries – and is the largest UN organization. It is led by an Administrator, currently Kemal Dervis (who is actually a former World Bank official). His position as head of the UNDP makes him the 3rd-highest ranking UN official in the UN system (the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, is the highest ranking, and his deputy is 2nd).

The UNDP, unlike organizations such as the World Bank, does not usually give out large loans to developing nations. Instead, it provides technical assistance, helping countries learn how to best achieve their poverty reduction goals. Because of this focus, the UNDP has become the largest source of grant (the money does not have to be repaid) technical assistance in the world.

UNESCO:UNESCO is a United Nations organization that promotes human rights, and

especially education. It supports the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment literacy program, and hosts the World Literacy Day event.

UNICEF:UNICEF works to give children around the world a healthy childhood. It conducts immunizations, works for gender equality in schools, combats HIV/AIDS, and creates protective, safe environments for children to live in.

UNIFEM:UNIFEM works to create gender equality across the world, especially for women. This work is absolutely essential, because women in the developing world are often denied access to education, have an increased risk of HIV/AIDS, and are even more likely to be impoverished or economically insecure.

USAID:USAID is the government agency that is in charge of managing U.S. development aid. It works around the world, and partners with 3,500+ companies and 300+ volunteer organizations to conduct its work of economic development, humanitarian assistance, and advocacy of democracy.

World Bank Group:The World Bank Group is a large international organization that loans and grants money to developing nations around the world. It is one of the biggest funders of poverty relief programs in the world, and lends billions of dollars a year - more than $22 billion a year. It consists of five sub-organizations.

World Health Organization:The World Health Organization (WHO) is a United Nations organization that deals with health-related issues across the globe. It concentrates on helping developing countries create the management and infrastrucutre they need to have an effective health system that reaches out to the poor. The WHO provides technical assistance and experience to these countries and continually looks for new ways to improve health.

World Food Programme:The World Food Programme is a United Nation's organization that is responsible for the vast majority of food aid, whether for emergency or development purposes, in the world. It works to end hunger around the world and distributes food aid to millions of people each year.

So these are all some of the organizations which work for poverty reduction, poverty eradication and poverty alleviation in some form or other.

Summing up -Ridding this world of hunger eradicating poverty

We need to work through stages of poverty

reduction , poverty alleviation and poverty eradication to rid this world of hunger by studying and implementing of high nutrition with less expense concept, studying the factors addressed by the organizations in fighting poverty and implementing them globally. If done in letter , sprit and execution there wont be

hunger anywhere in the world

Thanking you,

Poverty and hunger eradicatingly,

Mohan Sanjeevan

e-mail: mohansanjeevan2011@gmail.com

contact number: +91 95979 05841

Eradicating poverty and hunger?

Eradicating poverty and hunger?Well, It is there in the conferencesIn the one hour discussionsHalf hour question and answer sessionsBut people are starving , dying on the streetsWell, stop not the conferencesTake them forward into streetsFeeding them for real provide them the livelihood means to

fend for themselvesGone will be poverty, Out will be hunger!-Poem written on the spot on the poster during International Youth Conference 2013 , January 12th , 2013