Youth Hunger and Poverty

Poverty is a worldwide predicament, no continent nor is any society immune to it. It deprives people of their basic human needs and it hinders community development and in the process spiraling various youth issues. Families cannot afford to take their children to school and in the long run this leads to the children loitering the streets and will more than often resort to crime related activities because they lack the skills and knowledge to get proper employment. Apart from education, resources like food, clean water and healthcare are not really accessible to the poor communities, leading to illnesses that usually end up taking the lives of these young people and that of their relatives. Youth who endure growing up in poverty ridden communities are usually prone to suffer from social discrimination and exclusion which affects their emotional wellbeing. There are more social ills linked to poverty like teenage pregnancy and child bearing which is more prominent in poorer communities than in wealthy communities, the same goes for child marriages and HIV knowledge among youths. Statistics show that the number of girls being married before the age of 18 is higher in the poorest regions of the world particularly Eastern Africa, Western Africa and South Central Asia.

There are many factors that lead to poverty; misuse of environment in terms of intensive farming leading to soil erosion, desertification, overgrazing and deforestation that cause a decline in agricultural yields therefore increasing poverty. Economic factors such as, tax haven-related issues and unfair terms of trade may also lead to poverty. Moreover, governance-based factors also contribute to poverty in regard to ineffectiveness in governmental performance, weak rule of law, and mismanagement of funds which are intended to cater for needs of the poor.

Relevant stakeholders have implemented strategies to eradicate poverty. Media fulfills a significant role in responding to and amplifying attitudes and ideas of society toward poverty. On the other hand a concern about poverty towards youth has attracted many non-governmental organisations to contribute through specially designed programs and actions for the purpose of eradicating poverty and poverty related issues suffered by young people. Many governments are also hands-on the matter, they do not only highlight specific attention in a form of a particular initiative; they have various plans in place to eradicate poverty instead.