MANY TO MANY Prisoners of Poverty

Prisoners of Poverty

In Dr. Greg Goldstein’s article "Prisoners of Poverty" in People & the Planet, volume 6 number 3, 1997, he laments the fact that "the subject of poor people in crowded settlements is bedevilled by a profound lack of interest". Only when a new type of epidemic disease, water shortage or extreme outbursts of violence occur aught the public eye focus briefly on such squatter settlements or 'peri-urban septic fringes', where every type of human misery, crime and degradation are flourishing. Society apparently not only tolerates, even exploits, these poor people but seems also to accept such conditions of poverty as if they were 'naturally ordained'.

Dr. Goldstein, who is the coordinator of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Healthy City Programme, Geneva, believes that the solution to problems of health and the environment is closely related to the elimination of all aspects of poverty. This view, shared by many, is also backed up by the finding of a WHO team of researchers who confirm that insidious chemical pollution, new contagious diseases as well as the increasing spread of old ones, dirty and inadequate water supplies, unsafe and insanitary human settlements, air pollution in all its forms, ozone depletion and climate change – all "fall within a broad social and ecological context".

Dr. Goldstein calls for a new global agenda. Suggesting that it should be funded by wealthier countries, he believes that the aims of such an agenda “to solve the settlements problems in all countries may be in the best interest of wealthier as well as poorer countries.”

Globalisation is not only a matter of trade and communication, stresses Dr. Goldstein, it must also involve serious consideration of all future human and ecological relationships. The imbalance between rich and poor is clarified in the following statistics: 1,3 billion people today survive on less than a dollar a day; 3,3 billion earn less than $750 a year (approx $2 a day); during the last three decades, the ratio of the income share of the richest 20% to that of the poorest 20% has more than doubled: from 30:1 to 61:1.

The president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, supports Dr. Goldstein’s view that we can and must no longer ignore the gap between the rich and the poor; that the "glaring disparities within and between countries" must be reduced. Currently the 'global rich' spend only an average of 0.29% of their national income on official development aid.

Says Dr. Goldstein: A major international effort is needed to develop our towns and cities in such a way that all citizens can live a decent life – using existing capabilities and technologies. In conference after conference in the last decade of the millennium, ambitious agendas have been developed on sustainable development. But still needed is a greater recognition of the corrosive effect on these agendas of continued and rising inequity on the sense of purpose and social cohesion at global, national and local levels.

The global web of trade, grassroots and NGO action, investment,diplomacy. and telecommunications must continue to be strengthened to develop this purpose In the final paragraph of his thought-provoking article, Dr. Goldstein points out that: Effective aid does not depend only on its amount, but also requires action by recipient countries in strengthening the legitimacy, transparency and the accountability of their institutions. The president of the World Bank adds quite bluntly to this sentiment by saying: The message for countries is clear: educate your people, ensure their health, give them voice and justice, financial systems that work, and they will respond and they will save and they will attract the investment, both foreign and domestic, that is needed to raise their living standards and fuel development.
People & the Planet
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Tel. +44-171-383-4388, Fax: +44-171-388-2398.

Many to Many
a quarterly publication issued by
Operation Peace through Unity

Anthony Brooke and Gita Brooke, co-founders
Te Rangi, 4 Allison Street, Wanganui 5001, New Zealand
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Many to Many
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