Pope Francis has on many occasions spoken against the economy that “excludes” and “kills”. At this year’s Expo in Milan, where the central theme was food and nutrition, the point was made at the various seminars organised to coincide with the event that we are wasting our food resources. The plight of refugees from countries ravaged by war, famine and misery brings to the forefront once more the extent of poverty across the world.
It is very easy to claim that when the world is going through an economic recession, there may not be enough resources to address the issue of poverty. However, irrespective of whether we have economic growth or not, action against poverty should always be the main concern of any individual government and of the international community as a whole. Yet, while the demands on international agencies and NGOs that support poor persons around the globe are forever increasing, their resources are forever diminishing.
The EU has targeted poverty in its Europe 2020 Agenda. One of the five headline targets of this agenda is to lift at least 20 million people out of risk of poverty or social exclusion by 2020. The latest estimates for the 28 EU member states show that there are around 123 million persons currently described in such a situation. At risk-of-poverty persons are those with a disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60 per cent of the national median disposable income (after the payment of social benefits).
Empowerment and employment are two elements that link poverty directly with the economy
Of these 123 million, around 48 million (again according to latest estimates) can be described as materially deprived. Materially-deprived persons are those whose living conditions are severely constrained by a lack of resources and cannot afford at least four out of nine following items: to pay rent or utility bills; keep their home adequately warm; face unexpected expenses; eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day; a week holiday away from home; a car; a washing machine; a colour TV; or a telephone.
Malta has an estimated 100,000 persons who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Of these, 43,000 persons fall in the category of materially- and socially-deprived persons. Malta’s target is to lift out 6,560 persons out of the risk of poverty and social exclusion.
At a UN summit held recently, entitled Ending Poverty and Hunger, President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca spoke about the need to update our understanding of the nature of poverty to be able to combat it. She stated that poverty is rooted in political, social and economic injustices and is not the result of individual or family choice. She asked for concrete action to be taken against poverty through greater investment in education, health and community development.
Within this context, there are two aspects I would like to highlight as a concrete action plan against poverty. The first is empowerment. It may sound like a paradox but I do not think that we should simply be happy with the fact that our country has a strong social security net which seeks to support disadvantaged persons. The presence of such a social security net is only the first step to combat poverty. Persons need to be empowered through education and training to use their own talent to move out of poverty.
The second element is employment. Saying that we have a strong economy that is generating jobs is not enough. Again, that is just the first step. Persons at risk of poverty and social exclusion need support to move into stable employment. Empowerment and employment are two elements that link poverty directly with the economy.
Poverty will not go away on its own as long as economic injustices continue to exist. This is why I believe that each and every one of us has a contribution to make to combat poverty in a concrete manner.