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Introduction:
Due to the economic state in our great country Nigeria today, a country endowed with so many human and natural resources that have not been channeled to the appropriate quarters, people are still poor and poverty stricken in various parts of the nation.
The meaning of 'Poverty Alleviation' and its concepts:
First, what do we mean by the phrase "Poverty" and "Poverty alleviation"? According to the Mc Graw Hill (1973) dictionary of modern economics, "poverty is a condition in which income is insufficient to meet substantial needs." Thus, the level of living may be considerably lower than what is deemed to be the adequate standard of living. In some cases, poverty is the inability of a family to have the following: basic needs like food, water, shelter etc.; at least basic education, health services and minimum income.
On issues of "poverty alleviation” in the Nigerian context, we usually refer to efforts aimed at reducing the magnitude of "poverty” defined in terms of the proportion of the population living below the poverty line. Nevertheless, we are looking at "Poverty alleviation" from two angles:
1. Nutrition
2. Illness.
In a poverty-ridden society like Nigeria, where the majority of its citizens are poor, families no longer feed properly due to the high cost of basic staples such as Garri, rice, yam and beans and so forth and so on. Meats like beef and poultry have disappeared from the family pot. The intake of protein, minerals and vitamins have been drastically reduced below minimum requirements, such that individuals in most households thus become vulnerable to pellagra, retard growth (physical and mental) and a greatly reduced resistance to diseases.
This is the real story of life in the country especially now that the petroleum product prices are high. The cost of living is soaring everyday. The difficulty in meeting adequate feeding/nutrition has serious consequences for family health. Poverty therefore contributes to social deviation such as delinquency, drug addiction and criminality.
A Poverty ridden society also experiences rising rates of illiteracy as a result of the increasing number of school drop outs and declining school enrollment, engendered by the inability of parents to afford the cost of training their children. This is a reality in Nigeria. In the last 5 years or so, Nigeria has descended to a lowly and pitiable position to find itself among the 20 poorest countries of the world, while holding sway next to the Republic of Columbia and Haiti as the most corrupt country in the world. This is unfortunate!
Therefore, there is the urgent need to alleviate the suffering of close to 70 percent of Nigeria’s active population that is living below poverty line. The government still has the obligation to ensure its resources are expanded in a manner that will achieve the set goals in a sustainable basis. The implementation of poverty alleviation at the moment is left in the hands of people who know next to nothing about this important matter; people that have not, or have heard of the MDGs, but cannot explain them. The situation of poverty alleviation and eventually, poverty eradication requires more than money: it requires carefully designed and solid institutional frameworks, as well as technical expertise.
Strategies in managing reduction of Poverty: The way forward.
As Nigeria democratizes, it has a chance to embark on some poverty reduction policies; thus, government needs to make a firm commitment to place poverty alleviation at the forefront of its development and policies, which can support a stable and growing economy, enabling Nigeria to take its place in regional leadership.
An effective strategy will require a strong and focused emphasis on economic growth, with access to social services and infrastructure. Targeting rapid and sustained long-term growth in Nigeria can be achieved through a combination of policies that support the MDGs; microeconomic stability; the removal of price distortions and a more open trade regime; and a more effective and efficient investment, with an improved and empowered private sector.
Poverty is one disease that has left African people besieged and under- developed: for it to be eradicated successfully, the right people must be involved in the right proportion, and not in a way where the rich few will enrich their bags. Let us be warned!
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Henry Ekwuruke
Henry Ekwuruke is Executive Director of the Development Generation Africa International.
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