Lecturer: Dr. Kingsley Nyarko , Department of Psychology Contact Information: knyarko@ug.edu.gh College of Education School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 – 2016/2017
Session Overview At the end of the session, the student will be able to • Explain why and how psychology is needed in poverty alleviation strategies. • Analyze the implications of poverty on national development. Slide 2
Session Outline The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows: • Introduction/Background • Explanation of Poverty • Poverty in Ghana Slide 3
Reading List • Mehryar, A.H. (1984). The role of psychology in National Development: Wishful thinking and Reality. Int. Journal of Psychology, 19, 159-167. • Moghaddam, F.M., Bianchi, K., Daniels, K., Apter, M.J., & Harré, R. (1999). Psychology and National Development. Psychology & Developing Societies, 11, 119-141. • 50th Session of the Commission for Social Development Caucus of the Psychology Coalition at the United Nations (2012). Psychological Contributions on Empowerment for The Eradication of Poverty. Slide 4
Topic One INTRODUCTION Slide 5
Introduction • In 1992, the UN declared that in each year, 17 th October is the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The day is for governments to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution worldwide, especially in developing countries. • In December 1995, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006). In the year 2000, world leaders committed to the Millennium Development Goals which included reducing by half the number of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015. Slide 6
Introduction • Achieving the MDG goal of reducing world poverty by 50% by 2015 required the cooperative effort of many disciplines (O’Neill Berry, 2011). This goal has been achieved. • Poverty reduction has traditionally been within the domain of economics, and psychology has not featured prominently in addressing this crucial global issue. • However, the UN Secretary- General’s Report on Poverty Eradication (E/CN.5/2012/3) acknowledges that poverty is multidimensional. Slide 7
Introduction Global poverty today… • World poverty today is severe and becoming worse with the downturn in world economy. A look at the statistics is serious! • For example, more than two billion people live on less than two dollars a day, • Between 26,000 and 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. • Over one-quarter of all children in low-income countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted, with most living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (Shah, 2009). • The poorest 40% of the world’s population account for only 5% of global income. Slide 8
Introduction Global attempt to reduce… • The first UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG-1) was to reduce extreme poverty and hunger by 50% by 2015 (United Nations, 2008). • This goal has been achieved. • The effects of the current financial crisis could reduce demand for developing countries’ exports, as well as the availability of credit and foreign direct investment to finance projects (Dervis, 2008). • The economic future of the world looks bleak but even worse for those already suffering from the effects of poverty. Slide 9
Sample Questions 1. Explain why and how psychology is needed in the alleviation of poverty in the country? 2. To what extent is poverty a threat to national development? Slide 10
Topic Two POVERTY DEFINED Slide 11
Poverty Defined • From a study on the views of the poor on poverty, a respondent said: ``Don’t ask me what poverty is because you have met it outside my house. Look at the house and count the number of holes. Look at my utensils and the clothes that I am wearing. Look at everything and write what you see. What you see is poverty. – A poor man, Kenya 1997`` Slide 12
Poverty Defined • Poverty is a multidimensional social phenomenon and thus its definition and causes vary by gender, age, culture, and other social and economic contexts (Sen, 1997; Foster & Sen, 1997). • For instance in Ghana, it is reported that men associate poverty with a lack of material assets, whereas for women, it is defined as food insecurity. Again, younger men in Ghana consider the ability to generate income as the most important asset, whereas older men cite as most important the status connected to a traditional agricultural lifestyle (Awaworyi & Danso, 2010). Slide 13
Poverty Defined • Poverty in its most general sense is the lack of necessities, basic food, shelter, medical care, and safety are generally thought necessary based on shared values of human dignity. Valentine (reported in Bradshaw, 2006) says that “the essence of poverty is inequality. In slightly different words, the basic meaning of poverty is relative deprivation” (p 4). Slide 14
Poverty Defined • According to the World Bank “The most commonly used way to measure poverty is based on incomes. A person is considered poor if his or her income level falls below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the “poverty line”. • What is necessary to satisfy basic needs varies across time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines vary in time and place, and each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of development, societal norms and values” ( Awaworyi & Danso, 2010, p10). Slide 15
Poverty Defined Sachs (2005) has identified three major levels of poverty • Extreme Poverty — thus households cannot meet basic needs such as food, lack of basic health care, lack of proper shelter, lack of portable drinking water, lack of education. • Moderate poverty — here basic needs are met but just barely. • Relative poverty — here the household income level is constructed to be below a given national income. It refers to individuals or groups lack of resources as compared with others in the society. Here poverty differs across time and place. It is about the degree of poverty. Slide 16
Poverty Defined • Some scholars contend that relative poverty exists in the absence of a minimum standard of living on socially or culturally established criteria and not the criteria of survival or subsistence as argued in the definitions of absolute poverty. Slide 17
Topic Three POVERTY IN GHANA Slide 18
Poverty in Ghana In 1991, the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) indicated the poverty level as 51.7% • In 1999 there was a reduction to 39.5%. • In 2005, this further dropped to 28.5%. • Of these percentages, a large number of women have been seen to be more prone to poverty (Fosu & Tsikata, 2007). Slide 19
Poverty in Ghana • The national poverty rate is defined as the percentage of a country’s population which earns less than the country’s poverty line. Whilst the World Bank’s poverty line is 1$ or less a day. • In Ghana it is $2 a day. Therefore in 2007, the World Bank Statistics which gave the population of Ghana as 22.9 million estimated that 18.5% are unable to meet their daily food needs. Slide 20
Poverty in Ghana Causes of Poverty in Ghana Various factors have been identified as causes of poverty in Ghana (Awaworyi & Danso, 2010) • Hindrances to productivity such as bureaucracy, corruption etc. For example, whilst it takes $280 to open a business in Canada, in Ghana, one might have to bribe his way. • Poor health and lack of education. For instance in developing countries such as Ghana, estimates indicate that 40% of children aged 4 and younger suffer from anaemia because of insufficient iron in their diets. • Ill-health. For example, malaria decreases GDP growth by up to 1.3% in Ghana. Tuberculosis, cholera and other infectious diseases are still prevalent in the country. Slide 21
Poverty in Ghana • Rising cost of living, environmental degradation. For instance 40% of soil in Ghana are degraded. • Overpopulation and lack of access to birth control methods. • Ethnic and tribal conflicts. For instance according to the Ghana Police, social vices such as murder, prostitution, armed robbery have serious poverty motive. Slide 22
Poverty in Ghana Effects of Poverty in Ghana • Since 1990, one third of death in Ghana is due to poverty-related causes. • Every year nearly 1,000 children living in poverty die before their fifth birthday in Ghana. • There are over 1 million street children nationwide (by Catholic Action for Street Children (CAS). Slide 23
Poverty in Ghana • In Ghana there have been various attempts to reduce poverty: just a few • Provision of subsidized credits in the 1950s. • The establishment of the Agricultural Development Bank in 1965 specifically to address the financial need of fisheries and agricultural sectors. Slide 24
Poverty in Ghana Efforts to Reduce Poverty in Ghana • Micro-financing. Microfinance is based on the premise that the poor have skills which remain unutilized and underutilized. But they lack funds to help them unleash it. • Provision of social intervention programs by the government. • Promotion of entrepreneurial skills development and acquisition among the youth. Slide 25
References • XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Slide 26
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