Sustainable Development Goal #1 calls for solutions to end poverty everywhere on the planet. Use your curiosity to deepen your understanding and drive your actions to do something about it
What is poverty? Poverty is when people don't have enough money or resources to make their most basic needs, like food and shelter; extreme poverty is defined as individuals earning less than $1.90 USD a day.
Who does poverty affect? Extreme poverty affected 10% of our world's population, or about 700 million people in 2015; in 2018, that number was down to 8.6%, but current projections still show us coming short of reaching 0% by 2030.
How does much would it cost to solve the problem of poverty? According to the economist, Jeffery Sachs, it would cost about $175 billion USD a year for 20 years; while that sounds like a lot, it is less than 1% of the combined income of our world's wealthiest countries
When does poverty happen? Poverty can happen when someone is faced with any a number of conditions, form unemployment to natural disasters or diseases (like COVID-19) that can hamper one's ability to work or find work.
Where is poverty causing the most problems? The majority of people on our planet living in extreme poverty are living in sub-Sahara Africa, but they can be found in every country in the world.
Why is it important to find end poverty everywhere? There are many reasons to end poverty, one of the most succinct is stated by the United Nations: "...as human beings, our wellbeing is linked to each other." What if, we're in this, (i.e., this ride around the Sun on the only known planet in the Universe capable of supporting human life) together and, as a species, we can't survive with a few thriving while millions are starving?
Huh? What is an obstacle or something confusing about ridding our world of poverty? Employment isn't a guarantee against poverty: 8% of people with jobs are living in poverty.
Wow! Becoming a no poverty planet would be pretty amazing. Just think how productive we would be with every person on the planet out of poverty? How many new inventions could be invented, songs written, places explored, cures discovered, and celebrations made if not a single person had to go to bed with the worry of how they were going to survive tomorrow?
How SDG #1, No Poverty connects to COVID-19:
For those living in poverty, COVID-19 is just another threat to their lives, not just in how they might be able to pay for treatment, but also how they can live to prevent infection and find work. How has living during COVID-19 raised your awareness of global poverty?
Using Curiosity to connect COVID-19 with SDG #1 No Poverty:
What if, being impoverished is not fully a matter of doing the wrong thing or living the wrong way? What if, similar to COVID-19, poverty catches people? How might this change how you view people and places currently facing the problem of poverty?
Call-to-action challenge to take on ending poverty and COVID-19:
Poverty isn't just about money: there are a myriad other factors that can contribute to a person's ability to provide food, shelter, and other necessities... what could you create or give other than money to help rid another person or the whole world of poverty?
Keep conquering COVID-19 with the SDGs with SDG #2 Zero Hunger.
You can also take the COVID-19 A-Z Challenge and if you want to take your curiosity about understanding and taking actions on COVID-19 to the extreme, download the COVID-19 A-Z eBook for more discovering, doing, and making the world a better planet.
Curiosity Based Learning
What? to Wow!
COVID-19 A-Z
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Comments