Poverty !

The word "Poverty " means different things to different people.   We have desperately poor people here in Australia, but their living conditions do not match those that are so common in parts of Asia and Africa.  Many charities here ensure that those down on their luck can at least look forward to a square meal and basic clothing.

The  World Bank tries to compile statistics on world poverty - and that is extremely difficult.  Many countries do not conduct a regular census and some have no idea of their total numbers, much less the state of how those in far villages are faring.  What is becoming clear is that world poverty is retreating and that the biggest gains in recent times have been in India and China.

The World Bank issues a "guesstimate " that 767 million people are presently living in dire poverty and they base that on those subsisting on just $ 1.90 per day. In Australia that would probably buy just a small pack of French fries from McDonalds.   As a comparison, the report dissects how it would be distributed by a subsistence farmer in Zambia.

That $ 1.90 would buy two or three plates, depending on the size - of " Nshima " which is a maize staple known locally as " mealie meal ", a sweet potato, several spoons of oil, a couple of tea spoons of sugar, a handful of peanuts - and twice a week a banana or a mango.   Any type of meat would be a rare luxury.

Basically, such a person is living on a food ration of $ 1.33 per day and the balance of  57 c from that $ 1.90 must be divided across the need for finding shelter, providing clothing and for all medical needs.   The balance between life and death is finite.

The good news is that sharply improving trade and living conditions in two continents have lowered the numbers living in dire poverty.  In India the numbers fell by218 million from 2004 to 2013 and in China by 320 million between 2002 and 2012, the latest periods in which numbers are available.

Location has a lot to do with poverty.   In all countries it is evident that the coastal fringe is the first to emerge from poverty and the further inland the people live the more entrenched poverty remains.   That has a lot to do with trade and transport.   Lack of roads to get goods to market tends to isolate those living far inland.   Those in land locked countries suffer a double whammy.

There is hope that the wonders of this twenty-first century will speed the conversion of the desperately poor to a better way of life.   The mobile phone has spread far faster than the road network and the exhilarating advent of communications has opened new doors.  For the first time, phone banking has brought finance to the deep bush - and together with micro loans this is empowering entrepreneurs and enhancing self employment.

Some of the charities have also taken a new approach.  Instead of giving money to alleviate poverty, they have started giving goods to more forward thinking people.   Perhaps a cow to one family and a few chickens and a rooster to another.   The sale of milk and eggs can have a profound effect on improving that $ 1.90 a day and turning the recipient into a trader.

We will probably never totally eliminate poverty, but the numbers are shrinking and as new people gain prosperity they enhance the total world marketplace - and that is the hope for a peaceful and prosperous world.