Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Aalborg University
Academic year 2011/2012
8th Semester Project work for a Master Program in
Global Refugees Studies
The extent of Progress
Made on
Millennium Development Goal One:
Halving Poverty and Acute
Starvation
Supervisor: Jan Vang
May-June 2011
Written by: Francis Kojo Yeboa
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
1
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Preface:
Since the declaration of the Millennium Development goals both the donor and the recipient
countries have set out strategies to meet them by the stipulated time-2015. The approach to
achieving the goals is quite diversified and differs from country to country as it does for
organization to organization, likewise institution to institution. The United Nations has
perceived the first goal, reducing the extent of poverty and acute hunger by halve as a key to the
rest.
This project work, which is a partial fulfillment for the award of a degree in Global Refugee
Studies at the University of Aaborg, Aaborg Denmark, attempts to look at the extent of progress
made on the first goal, by literature reviewing of the various reports by the United Nations and
other actors in this field.
……To Akwesi, Kwame and Akua……..
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
2
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Table of Contents:
1.
Introduction…5
1.1
Problem Formulation…8
2.
Methodology…9
2.1.
Research Method…9
2.2.
Analysis Strategy…10
2.3
Definition of Key Concepts…12
2.3.1
What is Poverty?...12
2.4.
The Eight millennium Goals…13
2.4.1
The millennium Goal 1…13
2.4.2.
Indicators…14
3
Facts and Declarations on Poverty (UN, 2010)…15
3.1
Facts on Poverty in Africa (UN, 2010)…15
3.2
Keeping the promise-a summit on MDG (September 20-22, 2010)…15
4.
Theoretical framework of Poverty…16
4.1
Poverty Due to individual Deficiencies…16
4.2
Poverty caused by Economic, political and social distortion and discrimination…18
5.
Data on Poverty situation in Africa…19
5.1
The Overall Extent of Progress made on MDG 1 (all 3 targets of goal 1) in Africa…19
5.2 a
The Extent of Progress made on MDG 1 (target 1.1)…20
5.2 b
The Extent of Progress made on MDG 1 (target 1.2)…22
5.2 c
The Extent of Progress made on MDG 1 (target 1.3)…23
6.
Interpretation of data…25
7.
Case study: (specific interventions)…27
7.1
The Millennium Villages…27
7.1a
The Millennium village in Kenya…28
7.1b
The Millennium village in Ghana…29
8.
The future: The implication of the two theories on MDG 1…30
9.
Conclusion…32
Miscellaneous…34
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
3
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Abbreviations:
DAC: Development Assistance Committee of the OECD
OECD: Organization for economic co-operation and Development
GDP: Gross Domestic Product
GNI: Gross National Income
GNP: Gross National Income
MDG: Millennium Development Goals
MVP: Millennium village Projects
PPP: Purchasing Power Parity
NCHS: National Center for Health Statistics
CDC: Center for Disease Control
List of Tables:
Table 1: A summarized version of the Targets towards All the eight goals…13
Table 2: Criteria for monitoring the Progress…14
Table 3: Progress Chart 2010 for Africa for MDG 1: eradication of extreme poverty and hunger…19
Table 4: Poverty gap for 1990 and 2005 for Africa prior to the crisis in percent…20
Table 5: The proportion of people living on less than $1.25 per day 1999 and 2005…21
Table 6: The proportion of employed people living below $1.25 a day 1998 2008 2009 in percent…21
Table 7: The employment-to-population ratio 1990, 1998 and 2005 (preliminary estimates)…22
Table 8: The proportion of own account and contributing family in total employment 1998, 2008 and
2009 in percentage…23
Table 9: The proportion of undernourished population 1990-1992, 2000-2002 and 2005- 20007 in
percent..23
Table 10: The Proportion of children under 5years of age who are underweight 1990 and 2008…24
Table 11: The ratio between the proportion of children <5years of age who are underweight in rural areas
and in urban areas 1990 and 2008…24
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
4
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Table 12: Summary of Tables…
1. Introduction
The world is not poor but majority of its people are. Poverty is a huge social problem that
carries with it different and varying root causes, all of which having a certain degree of validity
(Blank, 2003) depending on the situation a person finds him/her in. Poverty had been blamed on
personality characteristics, such as laziness, educational levels and a failure and/or a refusal of
an individual to climb out of it. However, Rank, et. al., (2003) disagrees and attributes poverty
to structural failure, for example the job markets’ unaccommodating nature. Valentine (1968)
thinks the “essence of it is inequality”.
In 2009, the World Bank estimated that 100-200 of the worlds’ people live under the poverty
line due to the food crisis in 2007-2008, a situation that was complicated with the economic
crunch adding between 55 and 99 million more people to this number (World Bank, 2009).
The United Nations since its birth has engaged in many programs ranging from peace-keeping
through refugee safety and human rights to crime prevention and those of the environment.
Most of these activities could otherwise have been averted if not for the fact that majority (the
so-called underdeveloped) of the worlds people are unable to solve their own basic problems.
In spite of this lack, the fact remains that economic, social and political development in the
south should never be occurring in a tandem due to the numerous struggles that plague these
societies. If anything at all, development in the south, should begin with ridding the societies off
acute poverty and hunger, and then political stability (democracy) and the rest, say, social
mobilization and economic growth, for example could be hoped to follow. The opposite
according to Huntington (1965) may lead to ‘political decay’ and hence instability.
The ‘desire’ and the ‘will’ to help eradicate poverty had never been diminishing among donors.
For example, the number of donors in the OECD’s development organization (DAC) continues
to increase (Kragelund, 2008) with the inclusion of 12 new east and south European countries.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
5
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Looking at the World scene, new actors such as Island, Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Cuba, South
Africa, India and China are assuming newer and larger roles in development, most importantly,
India and China’s roles are deeply felt in recent years (Engberg-Pedersen, 2009).
For reasons beyond this writing, development aid has over the years been linked to security
interests. The global north is increasing being concerned about the threat of terrorism with the
advent of the senseless 9/11 attacks, which succeeded the MDG in the same month and a year
after its declaration. Other issues such as wars and conflicts/uprising that might result in the
flow of masses towards the North (Refugees) also steal attention. We witness the recent unrest
in the north of Africa. Duffield in 2010 agreed and added that, aid no longer is seen as neutral
but rather the extension of western foreign policy. Cowen, et, al., (1996), noted that
development in the south arguably had functioned as a technology of security.
Development aid, (long term poverty alleviation) and not relief aid nor humanitarian aid, (short
term responses to alleviate human suffering and crisis) is what this paper refers to here.
Activities such as peace-building, conflict management, repairing of damaged physical or social
infrastructure after violent conflict are considered as being different.
Development aid
therefore, is here referred to as any forms of support for the improvement or betterment of the
south, either through eradication of poverty, hunger, diseases or the like.
Linking development aid to security is not new in this discourse. According to Anderson (1996),
after the cold-war era there was better understanding for using development aid as a tool for
achieving international security which also led to a rise of aid work (OECD, 1998; International
Development committee, 1999 & Development assistance committee, 2003). It was also in this
period that the United Nations started getting different ‘aid actor’ to collectively operate on
same projects (the integrated missions) and in most cases, in collaboration with the military.
Referred to as the donor-endorsed approaches to conflict management, many NGOs have been
practicing linking aid with other activities since the mid-1990s (Slim, 2004).
Poverty in the south does not seem to gain the desired attention and its rejection or neglect even
appears eminent. For example, Dasgupta (1985) saw the attainment of middle class lifestyles for
the majority of the world’s people as impossible; obviously, he seems to be right even after
those many years. Others, like Sachs (1992) boldly adds the reason for this tendency by stating
that, it could be due to the fact that its success is feared. Pupavac, (2005) sees enhancing
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
6
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
development, total poverty eradication, in the south as only wanting to reduce expectation rather
than according any material gains.
In September 2000, the united nation under the ‘the United Millenniums Declaration’ 189
countries, including 147 heads of states and Government, compassionately agreed on
humanitarian grounds, to reduce poverty and eliminate starvation, ensure that all children gain
access to education, ensure that there is equality among women and men, eliminate child death
in general and also at birth and ensure that mothers do not die at delivery, fight Aids/HIV and
other deadly diseases as well as their spread, and secure a better environment/climate for
all(http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration). There was a further agreement and the
endorsement of the former one by member states at the 2005 World Summit.
The rich and the poor countries set these goals to reduce, if not eliminate most of the hardships
faced by the people of the world. Governments, Policymakers, NGOs, Academics and others
involved in the development work industry from both donor and recipient countries agreed to
meet EIGHT goals by 2015.
The approach to meeting the eight millennium goals defer with different actors/donors operating
on the various different goals. While some concentrate on women and children as exemplified in
“Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health”, other donors attempt to secure better
environment, some fight inequality, while some others concentrate on poverty reduction. The
Danish government, for example has made significant progress on the millennium goal three
(MDG 3), under the program “MDG3 Global Call for Action” http://www.um.dk. The success
with meeting the goals depends on collective efforts by both donors and recipients alike.
The United Nations perceives goal one (MDG 1), addressing the root causes of extreme poverty
and hunger, as having a direct impact on achieving all the millennium goals (UN, 2009).
The promise to ease underdevelopment countries of poverty has been steadfast, however seeing
this promise come through must be tempered with serious commitments. Whereas the North
(Donors) does its part, the South (Recipients) is expected to do the same. Without this
reciprocation, the promise may suffer unforeseeable damages, wastages and failures.
It could only be hoped that the rich countries and institutions as well as the recipient-countries
would make good on this promise. Evidently, there seems to be a shift focus from emphasizing
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
7
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
on achieving the goals, to securing western interest among other issues that apparently divert the
rich countries’ attention from the goals.
This project which attempts to look back on goal one and is divided into eight main chapters.
The first chapter is the introduction that seeks to give the project a concise background to the
purpose, the problem and the design of the project. The second is about the method of the study
and definitions. The third highlights Africa,s poverty problems and some of the declarations and
commitments made by the different actors (governments, organization, companies, institutions,
and so on) at the United Nations. The fourth chapter deals with the theories chosen to address
the key concept of this writing, namely poverty and hunger in the world. Chapter five is about
the results/data used, the analysis in relation to the theoretical framework of the project. The
current poverty situation in Africa as reported is analyzed with regards to the activities/efforts
made, and how these reflect the chosen theories, viz individual enhancement-(deficiency) and
good governance-(distortion). Chapter six discusses the data and seven presents the specific
interventions made to avert poverty and hunger in the south- i.e the cases of projects, whereas
the subsequent chapter (eight) relates the discussed theories to some of the issues pertaining to
poverty in Africa. It also reviews, however inexhaustibly, some of the future steps that may help
in reducing poverty and sustaining the ‘reduction’. Finally, the conclusion section summarizes
the key issue given by the data on the progress.
The objective of this study is therefore:
To review the extent of progress made on the millennium development goal 1 (halving poverty
and acute starvation), as reported by the United Nations.
1.1
Problem Formulation
It is regarded that, the first millennium goal which deals with poverty halving acute poverty and
hunger transcends the rest of the goals. When people are neither poor nor hungry, they can be
able to help see the other goals through, seems to be the perception. Achieving the first goal
could be a milestone for reaching the rest.
RQ: With all the efforts from both Donor and Recipients can or will the MDG 1 goal be
achieved by the stipulated, 2015?
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
8
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
2
Methodology
2.1 Research Method:
As recommended by Bryman, (2008), the choice of the method was preceded by a thorough
analysis of the objective of the project, the kind of data to be used, the type of literature review
that suits the project, and by clearly specifying what the project is meant to investigate. That is,
the extent of progress made on the Millennium Development Goal 1 as reported by the United
Nation was analyzed and reviewed. And some of the approach, initiatives made by other actors
towards achieving this goal was examined and researched.
Both primary and secondary data were used in this project. Primary, because the data was taken
directly from the United Nations report on the progress made on the MDG 1 which was
compiled by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on the MDG Indicators led by the Department
of Economics and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. These are original
documents that give first-hand information about the subject.
On the other hand, secondary data analysis which according to Smith (2008) offers the chance
for reapplying, reanalyzing and reinterpreting an existing research data from a brand new
prospective was also used, especially from www.Ulandsnyt.dk and www.millenniumvilages.org
had their interpretations and securitizations made already. The use of these materials was not
extensive and was mostly qualitative. This was to be able to gain newer interpretations,
conclusions and understandings. These data address some questions in this research that were
different from those research questions the parties had used them for. As was also mentioned by
Smith (2008), the use of such data helped to save time and the need to for experts’ interviews.
The scope of the project did not call for any heavy investments, and the trouble of having to
collect data myself was also saved. It was though, only important to make sure that the type of
theoretical framework (Smith, 2008) originally considered for the collection did not impact my
interpretation. Therefore most of the data (mostly qualitative data) used here were mainly
presented in their original form or were quoted. And in order not to differ from its originality, I
considered how and by whom the data was collected, for example, and as explained by Cooper
(1998), there could be differences between interviews conducted by professionals with scripted
questionnaires and interviews conducted by academic researchers. The use of secondary data in
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
9
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
this project, among other precautions, considered the original design question, the language,
literacy and the subject objectivity (Cooper, 1998).
Biases are highly unavoidable, on the contrary, the minimization of biases were on hold
throughout this writing. To broaden the understanding of the energies/efforts invested into
meeting the MDG goals, I preferred to choose a village in Ghana, not only because of the
country’s legacy in this field, nor proximity to documentation or the like, but also because of my
in-depth knowledge about the country and the numerous actors (NGOS and institutions) from
the country that are generously involved in Aid work.
2.2 Analysis Strategy:
The analysis done in this paper is partly inspired by Foucault’s genealogical analysis approach
(1961), a conceptual analysis that is backed by the historical evolution and categorization.
The data used in this study were taken from among other sources, original UN documentation
and had been useful for the thematic analysis. For example, out of the data from the United
Nation on the targets set to evaluate all the MDG goals, only those that have something to do
with poverty and hunger reduction, were selected and categorized with people from only one
continent; namely Africa-(delimitation).This was preceded by learning the provided data careful
and familiarizing with them.
The qualitative analysis was done based on empirical analysis of primary data from the United
Nations, whereas most of the secondary data on its part were retrieved from articles, e-books, ejournals, hard covers, journals and other online materials. And as indicated above, the empirical
analysis was done not by using the information provided on all the MDG goals but only those
that pertained to the MDG 1 (the 1st MDG goal), and Africa were extracted and used. This gave
problems since the approaches to meeting the goals seem holistic. Donors, like recipients do not
necessarily prioritize the first goal alone, even when it is deemed the most important. While
some tackle the goals from MDG 2, others choose to start from MDG 4, for example. This has
culminated in finding and using articles exclusively on only MDG 1, a bit difficult.
The two chosen theories on poverty have their origin in social sciences. They are the individual
deficiency theory and the political, economic distortion theory. These are selected because of
my convention that, the first, “individual” has to do with what and how the populace in the
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
10
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
various societies in the south do or do not do, in order to rid themselves off poverty and hunger,
whilst the second seem to reflect the marginalization, corruption, embezzlement, illicit financial
flow, centralization, neglect, discrimination, nepotism etc undertaken by most corrupt
governments in the south.
Both theories, take into account socially constructed concepts and norms that are used in the
official poverty reduction/alleviation discourse, which in turn allows for community help
approaches and setting of standards by donors respectively. By combining these theories, it is
hoped that a robust investigation or exploration of the extent of achievement on MDG 1 could
be made. Since they also sit well with the Classical liberalism, which has the individual as the
main actor in international politics and the Realism approach, that also have the state as the
main actor.
In real terms, the choice of the individual theory of poverty is because most, if not all of the
African farmers, who are being helped through the MVP, are illiterates, poor and subsistence
farmers. Most of them rely on traditional methods of cultivation. They are neither able to read
nor write and lack the necessary ‘know-how’ in modern agriculture. This is one of the many
reasons why Africa could not benefit from the ‘Green Revolution’. For instance, Ghana, again
failed to utilize the opportunities offered by the ‘Sasakawa Global 2000 programme’ (a well
tailored agricultural help-program) for the same reason. The lesions of yesteryears have been
that if the African farmers are even ‘willing’, their governments must be in stand to support
them.
Besides, the lack of, or the incapability to maintain and keep projects after the foreign personnel
had left is of grave concern. Most governments often reject or mismanage projects for many
strange reasons. The individual’s awareness and the government’s preparedness, ability and
willingness to maintain the projects determine the impact it can have on reducing poverty.
The two cases in Africa were to give an insight into the efforts by the international community
on poverty eradication, through specified self-help and capacity-building initiatives. The choice
also gave an added advantage to using documentation from the Development-Aid sector. The
obtained documents’ due to their source were perceived as reliable as do the statistical data
taken from the United Nations web pages, however untested nor scrutinized.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
11
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
The trends and patterns of the data were uncovered and given the necessary explanations on
which conclusions were drawn. The calculated values were used for the determination of the
progress. The Formula used for estimating the values was: y=(a-b/a)x100, where ‘a’ represents
the initial (old) percent value (fx. From 1990); ‘b’ stands for the current (new) percent value and
‘y’ gives either an ‘increase’ or a ‘decrease’ percent value. ‘Increase’ or ‘decrease’ does not
necessarily indicate either ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ but depended on the parameter measured. For
example, if the measurement was about the number of underweight children, increase will
denote a negative tendency, that’s retrogressing, whereas decrease will be positive, that’s
progress. On the contrary, if the measurement was about the number of people living on less
than $1.25 a day, increase will denote negative, that’s retrogressing, while decrease will imply
positive, that’s a progress.
2.3
Definition of Key Concepts
2.3.1 What is Poverty?
Many see the poor as the lack of basic human needs, food, shelter and clothing. But this is
depended upon what is relatively possible to the individual and depends on the person’s social
definition and past experiences (Sen, 1999), that is, relative deprivation (Bradshaw, 2006) and
the essence of it as due to inequality (Valentine, 1968). Most poor people live as the plebs of the
society with some even as beggars.
Oscar Lewis (1966) outlines the characteristics of poverty as including; families ending in
divorces and leaving mothers as head of the family, families that participate less in politics and
community work and those that have a high tendency in abandoning their children. In his view,
Ryan (1976) disagrees to the notion that poverty is the poor’s fault. He disputes the claim that
poverty is due to laziness, the poor’s reluctance to work and attributes poverty to bad moral
character. Rank was straightforward about the individual attributes as the cause of poverty, and
called it a misplacement and misdirection. He believes that structural failings of the economic,
political, and social system are causes instead (Rank, 2004). Bill Jordan (1983) in his version
on poverty, claims that the way to deal with poverty is to have in his words “universal provision
which brings everyone up to an acceptable level. ‘Far from creating dependence it frees people
from dependence’, he argued. Poverty is often measured according to ‘poverty-lines’ in most
societies. The idea of “poverty Line” (Orshansky, 1963) currently used to estimate which people
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
12
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
are poor or not, differ from country to country as it does from continent to continent. For
example, the EU’s estimates of Poverty differ from those of its members.
2.4 The Eight millennium Goals
Table 1: A summarized version of the targets towards all Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Goals
Goal
Target for 2015 (from 1990 level)
1. Poverty
 Halve the fraction of those with less than $1.25
 Halve fraction of people who suffer from hunger
2. Education
Universal primary schooling completed
3. Gender Equality
Eliminate gender disparity in schooling
4. Child mortality
Reduce under 5-mortality by 2/3
5. Maternal mortality
Reduce maternal mortality rate by ¾
6. Disease
Halt and begin to reverse spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and
other major diseases
7. Environment
Halve the ratio of people without access to safe drinking water
and basic sanitation
8.Global partnership
The Goal 7 targets relate to trade, debt, growth, technology,
drug affordability and other special needs
2.4.1



The millennium Goal 1
Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.
Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and
young people.
Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
13
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
2.4.2
Indicators:
In order to measure or monitor progress on the goals the United Nations Statistic Division has
set indicators to each of the MDG goals: The first goal is ‘broken up’ into 3 steps (targets) for
measuring its progress or achievement.
a. Target 1.1: halving the number of people living on less than $1 a day
b. Target 1.2: achieve full and productive employment for all
c. Target 1.3: halving the number of people suffering hunger.
Table 2: Criteria for monitoring progress
Goal & Target (MDG 1)
Extreme Poverty and Hunger
Eradicate Indicator for monitoring Progress
 Proportion of population below one dollar
Target 1.1:
(PPP) per day
Halve Between 1990 and 2015 the proportion  Poverty gap ratio (incidence x depth of
of people whose income is less than one dollar poverty) and Poverty headcount (Percentage of
a day.
population below the National poverty line)
 Share of poorest quintile in national
consumption
 Growth rate of GDP per persons employed
Target 1.2:
 Employment –to-population ratio
Achieve full and productive employment and  Proportion of employed people living
decent work for all, including women and below one dollar (PPP) per day
young people.
 Proportion
of
own-account
and
contributing family workers in
total
employment
 Prevalence of underweight children under
Target 1.3:
5years of age
Halve Between 1990 and 2015 the proportion  Proportion of population below minimum
of people who suffer from hunger.
level of dietary energy consumption.
The rational behind the indicators:
“The indicator allows for comparing and aggregating progress across countries in reducing the
number of people living under extreme poverty and for monitoring trends at the global level”
the UN, 2010.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
14
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
3
Facts and Declarations on Poverty (UN, 2010):
3.1 Facts on Poverty in Africa (UN, 2010)
 Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of undernourishment in the world, with onethird of the population below the minimum level of nourishment.
 At least one million people in Africa die from malaria each year, 90 percent of these
deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
 A woman living in sub-Saharan Africa has a 1 in 16 chance of dying when pregnant.
This compares with a 1 in 3,800 risk for a woman from North America.
 More than 50 percent of Africans suffer from water-related diseases such as cholera and
infant diarrhea.
 In one out of four African countries, half the children enrolled in the last year of primary
school do not pursue their studies the following year.
 Compared to the rest of the world, there is a very high incidence of poverty in SubSaharan Africa.
3.2 Keeping the promise-a summit on MDG September 20-22, 2010
The recent UN summit on MDG concluded with the adoption of a global action plan to achieve
the 8 MDG goals by the stipulated deadline and also ended with new promises. The same
agreement was achieved on the millennium development goals five years (2005) after the
declaration. The meeting was by governments, international organizations, business
representatives and partners at the United Nations on the MDG where major new commitments
and initiatives were made in a bid to accelerate MDG progress. The 2010 High-level Meeting
organized during the Six General Assembly Plenary Sessions. One of the outcomes was a matrix
on the compilation of these initiatives and commitments,(See http://www.un.org). The matrix
therefore consists of both the new commitments and the old ones. The short falls due to the lack
of adequate commitments on the part of some actors, or due to the financial crisis, inadequate
resources, or lack of accountability or otherwise were acknowledged and well to be dealt with.
“We must not fail the billions who look to the international community to fulfill the promise of the Millennium
Declaration for a better world. Let us meet in September to keep the promise." -- UN Secretary-General, Ban Kimoon
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
15
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
4. Theoretical Framework of the Poverty
The reason why people are poor or underprivileged are many, including those that are due the
individuals own causes (individual deficiencies), the state causes and even those due
geographical reasons. Harrison et al, (2000) have written extensively on poverty due societal
buildups, cultural affiliations and traditional structure. However Blank (1999) doesn’t believe
that any one of the theories can stand alone sufficiently to explain the real causes of poverty.
Bradshaw (2006), referring to the proliferation of poverty explanations, writes “attempting to
explain poverty has been a lucrative field for academics, policy-making and ideologues”.
Notwithstanding the various reasons given, 5 (some say 6) main theories linked with poverty
seem to be persistent, namely: those due to the individual’s deficiencies, those due to Cultural
belief systems that support subcultures in poverty, those due to political-economic distortion,
those due geographical disparities and those due to cumulative and circumstantial origins.
This paper uses the individual deficiencies theory and the political-economic distortion theory to
explain some of the causes that has necessitated the need for achieving the first millennium goal
(-the poor African lacking almost everything and the political insecurity that plagues the
continent). If the individual’s deficiencies could be limited or eliminated, by meeting the MDG
1, through for example, capacity-building, and if the political and the socio-economic structural
hindrances are fairly dealt, limited or removed by the MDG 1, it could be considered as a
success.
4.1 Poverty due to individual Deficiencies:
This theory has the individual as being responsible for his or her poverty situation. The theory
explains poverty as due to the individual’s circumstances and/or characteristics which amount to
the individual’s ability to obtain a reasonable education, skill, experience, or intelligence that
can enhances his or her chances for a better livelihood. Other factors that are considered in this
theory include the health status, the possession of handicap and being of age. Many authors have
tried to find the reasons for poverty by simply blaming it on the poor individual; on the contrary,
others see poverty as being caused by without factors. Ryan in 1976, with his writing “Blaming
the Victim” links the individual with other broader social phenomena. Schiller (1989) explains it
in terms of “flawed characters” and restricted opportunity to the individual. Jennings (1999)
view it as between the individual and certain society conceptions, whilst Rank, (2004) have
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
16
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
structural failings of economic, political and social systems as the causes. One fact becomes
clear here, the causes of poverty are intertwined as stated in the introduction. The pioneers of
this theory, typically the political conservatives, (Bradshaw, 2006), believe that the poor
individual could remedy his or her situation through hard work. Others think is due to genetics.
They believe certain people cannot be intelligent enough to rid themselves of poverty. Other
religious doctrines, (Weber, 2001), and notions pertinent to, for example the Protestant
Reformation, explain being wealthy as a blessings from God, and being poor as a punishment to
an individuals’ parents, coming from God. According to Bradshaw (2006), the concept of
inherited intelligence in the 19th century, led to rationalizing poverty that culminated into the
sterilization of people with limited abilities and disables. Rainwater (1970) dwelling on biblical
interpretations, discussed the individualistic theories of poverty as a “moralizing perspective”
and associated poor people to the curse of Cain in the Bible. He indicated that, those people are
bound or destined to suffer due to their moral failings-“they are in a deserved Hell on earth”,
was his side of it. Ironically, the neo-classical economics reinforces the individualistic sources
of poverty which depends on the individual’s ability to make the right choices to hence his or
her well-being (Bradshaw, 2006). The better choices
one makes in live, in investments,
education for example, the greater the chances of doing well, however and in the same breath,
the neo-classical economics also believe that achieving a wealthy live also depends on the
getting the rightful information. This implies that well-being can be enhanced. If people lack
incentives, the possibility of making right decisions diminishes as well as the chances for a
better livelihood.
A less criticized version of the individual theory of poverty is that of Horatio Alger (1897), that
sees attainment of wealth through skillfulness and hard work, the only thing one needs is
motivation and persistence, he argues. Self-help literature reinforces the belief that individuals
fail in live because they do not try hard enough. Buttger (1977), agrees that with focus on own
goals and hard work, one can easily succeed. Using scientific arguments, Fischer et, al., (1996)
dismissed the individual deficiency theory as an excuse for social inequality. Nonetheless, it has
been common knowledge that one cannot blame the other for his or her own failure. People are
responsible for what they do or don’t do. Referring to it as “workist consensus”, Maskovsky
(2001) thinks that pushing the poor to work is a means to remedy their poverty.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
17
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
4.2.
Poverty caused by Economics, political and social distortion and
Discrimination.
This form of theory is associated with the progressive social theory (Bradshaw, 2006) that sees
poverty as not due to the doing of the individual but rather from the economic, political and the
social systems’ influence on the individual. The individuals’ chances for accessing resources
and opportunities in the society contribute to his or her well being. In the foregoing centuries,
many social intellectuals, for example Marx, had attacked the economic system of capitalism,
which had left certain individuals in unemployment through discrimination. The economic
system seems to be structured in such a way that the poor, regardless of their skill and
competence are left behind, leading to self insufficiency (Jencks, 1996). Nation-state’s inability
to create low income jobs leave wage workers in poverty. According to Chubb et, al., (1996),
the political systems’ failure with eliminating structural barriers to better jobs through education
and training leads to poverty of citizens. Poor schooling systems coupled with poorly trained
teachers and ailing stationeries could only end in low educational achievements, poor rates of
graduation and few higher education and consequently unemployment and poverty. A political
system that isolates the poor, where their interest and participation are ignored, where wealth
and power are linked and where poor people are less involved in political discussion, where
racial discrimination and other forms of discrimination are practiced, could result in holding the
poor yet in poverty.
Bradshaw, (1996) describes system flaws associated with poverty through socially stigmatizing
groups of people due to their race, gender, religion, leading them to having limited opportunities
regardless of their skill, competences, and other personal capabilities. Policies that aim at
giving the minority in any society, reasonable rights and legal initiatives seem to help counter
this form of poverty. People simply do not have the resources and opportunities to lead middleclass life styles.
This structural theory of poverty is caused by the socio-economic order of the society, a macro
structure that provides inequality that leads to poverty. This form of structure led in 1995 to the
official adoption of the term Social exclusion (Friedman, 1996) at the world summit in
Copenhagen. Later adopted by the World Bank, this term refers to the exclusion of people from
employment based social security, a problem alongside poverty. According to Rodgers (1996),
the adoption of social exclusion allows for seeing this form of poverty as a process.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
18
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
5.
Data on Achievements:
5.1 The overall extent of progress made on MDG 1 (all 3 targets of goal 1) in
Africa.
Table 3: Progress Chart 2010 For Africa: MDG 1 Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger
Goals and Target
Africa
Northern
1. Reduce
Extreme Low Poverty2
Poverty by half (target
1.1)
Sub-Sahara
Very high Poverty3
large Very Large deficit in decent work4
2.Productive and decent Very
in
employment (target 1.2) deficit
decent work4
3. Reduce Hunger by Low hunger1
half (target 1.3)
Very high hunger3
Sources: United Nations, based on data and estimates provided by: Food and Agriculture Organization; InterParliamentary Union; International Labour Organization; International Telecommunication
Union; UNAIDS; UNESCO; UN-Habitat; UNICEF; UN Population Division; World Bank; World Health
Organization - based on statistics available as of June 2010.
Key: 1= Already met the target or very close to meeting the target; 2= Progress sufficient to meet the target if
prevailing trends persist; 3=Progress insufficient to meet the target if prevailing trend persist; 4=No progress or
deterioration.
The words in the box indicate the present degree of compliance with the target.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
19
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
5.2a: The extent of progress made on MDG 1 (target 1.1) in Africa.
Target: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less then
$1.25 per day.
Table 4: The Poverty gap for the 1990 & 2005, Africa prior to the Crisis in percentage.
% of Poverty gap ratio at $1.25 per day
Region
1990
2005
% increase/decrease
Sub-Saharan Africa
26
21
19.2
Northern Africa
1
1
0
Developing Countries
16
8
50
Source: UN, 2010
Note: Poverty gap measures the shortfalls in incomes of people living on below the poverty line. Poverty can be
measure in either absolute terms or in relative terms. The US and the World Bank use the absolute form, whereas
the World bank sets the poverty line at $1.25 per day, the US use different standards. The EU and the OECD use
the relative form, the socially defined form that compares a certain percent of the rich in the population to that of
the poor, an example is that based on “economic distance”-a level of income set at 50% of the median income of a
household.
The values in the table are based on the World Banks estimation.
5.2a: The extent of progress made on MDG 1-(target 1.1) in Africa.
The table shows the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 dollars per day for 1990 and
2005. The figures, according to the United Nations are affected by the economic and financial
met down in 2008, which led to the decline in export and a rise in commodity prices. The crunch
is also believed to have led to a reduction in trade and investment that had impacted economic
growth in the developing countries. Nonetheless, the UN expects an increase in growth which
will lead to a fall by 15% in poverty in the developing countries.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
20
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Table 5:
The proportion of people living on less than $1.25 per day. 1990 & 2005, (target 1.1).
% of people living on less than $1.25 per day
Region
1990
2005
% increase/decrease
Sub-Saharan Africa
58
51
12
Northern Africa
5
3
40
Developing Countries
46
27
41.3
Source: MDG report 2010, United Nations.
Even people are working; hardly can they live on their salaries or wages. This measure is about
the proportion of people in work but still live on less than $1.25 a day, the poverty line set by
the World Bank.
Table 6: showing the proportion of employed people living on below $1.25 a day 1998, 2008, 2009, in
percentage, second scenario.
Region
1998
2008
%
2009
increase/decrease
Sub-Saharan
%
increase/decrease
67
58
13.4
64
4.5?
6
3
50
4
33.3?
48
26
45.8
31
35.4?
Africa
Northern
Africa
Developing
countries
Source: UN, 2010
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
21
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
5.2b: The extent of progress made on MDG 1-(target 1.2) in Africa.
Measurements made on target 1.2: Achieve full productive employment and decent work for all,
including women and young people. The table below shows the employment ratio of regions in
Africa during 2008 and 2009, where the international economy had been hit by crisis resulting
in deterioration of labour markets which led to unemployment.
Table 7: shows the employment-to-population ratio 1990, 1998 & 2009, preliminary estimates (target 1.2)
for Africa
Region
1990
1998
%
2009
% decrease/increase
Decrease/increase
Sub-
64
65
1.6
65
1.6
44
46
4.5
46
4.5
Developing 63
62
1.6
62
1.6
Saharan
Africa
Northern
Africa
Countries
Source: UN, 2010
5.2b: The extent of progress made on MDG 1-(target 1.2) in Africa.
As jobs were lost, more workers have been forced into vulnerable employment” The gravity of
the economic crisis was reduced by governments’ stimulus, a measure taken by many of the
northern countries to avert job loses. The table below measure the proportion of own-account
and contributing family workers in total employment 1998, 2008 and 2009. According to the
UN, workers who, due to the financial crisis either lost their jobs nor could not enter again the
job market, ‘own-account’ and have family work to be the ‘lender of last resort’. These are
referred to as having ‘vulnerable employment’ defined as the sum of ‘own-account’ workers and
contributing family workers and are not bound by ‘formal work arrangements’.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
22
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Table 8: showing the proportion of own-account and contributing family worker in total employment,
1998, 2008, 2009, in percent
Region
1998
2008
%
2009
increase/decrease
Sub-Saharan
%
increase/decrease
82
75
8.5
77
6.0
35
31
11.4
34
2.8
65
59
9.2
60
8.3
Africa
Northern
Africa
Developing
countries
Source: UN, 2010
5.2c: The extent of progress made on MDG 1-(target 1.3) in Africa.
Since the economic crisis, more workers find themselves and their families living in extreme
poverty.
Target 1.3 of Millennium goal 1 is to halve, between 1990 and 2015 the proportion of people
who suffer from hunger:
Table 9: showing the proportion of undernourished population 1990-1992, 2000-2002 and 2005-2007 in
percent
Region
1990-1992
2000-2002
%
2005-2007
increase/decrease
Sub-Saharan
%
increase/decrease
31
30
3.2
26
16.1
Northern Africa
<5
<5
-
<5
-
Developing
20
16
20
16
20
Africa
Countries
Source: UN, 2010
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
23
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Another criterion for estimating the living standards for people is by measuring their in take of
nutrients. It is believed that the higher ones affordability the better the livelihood. The poor is
not able to feed his/her adequately and tend to lose weight accordingly. Measuring the weight of
children gives an indication of the economic status of their parents
Table 10: showing the proportion of children under age 5 who are underweight, 1990 and 2008. Target 1:3
Region
1990
2008
% increase/decrease
Sub-Saharan Africa
51
46
9.8
Northern Africa
11
7
36.4
Developing Countries
31
26
16.1
Source: UN, 2010
Note: Prevalence of underweight children is estimated based on the NCHS/WHO/CDC reference population. The
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is in the process of converting its entire child under nutrition database
according to the new World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards
“Children
in rural areas are nearly twice as likely to be underweight as those in urban areas”-
UN, 2010.
A comparison was therefore made between children under 5 years living in the rural areas and
those of the same age living in the urban centers, under target 1.3, namely halving the number
that suffer from hunger. That is to say that, rural children are disadvantaged.
Table 11: The ratio between the proportion of <5 years of age children who are underweight in rural areas
and urban areas, 1990 and 2008. The Parity Value=1.0
Region
1990
2008
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Northern
Africa
Developing
countries
1.5
1.4
%
Difference
% Difference
increase/decrease with “Parity
value” (2008)
6.7
0.4
40
1.7
1.5
11.8
0.5
50
1.7
1.9
11.8
0.9
90
Source: UN, 2010
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
24
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
6.
Interpretation of Data
In all the measured parameters there was a decline, but their meanings differ. Values for the
Northern African countries were generally smaller as compared to those for the Sub-Saharan
countries, an indication of the differences in the poverty situation on the continent. Apart from
unemployment that pars the two sub regions; extreme poverty seems not to border the northern
Africans.
Table 12:Summary of tables.
Region
Poverty
Proportion
Proportion
Proportion of
Proportion
Underweight
Undernourished
gap %
of people on
of employed
Employment-
on
Children %
children %
<$1.25 %
people
to-population
Vulnerable
ratio %
employment
<$1.25 %
on
%
Sub-
19.2
12
1.6
6.0
9.8
16.1
Saharan
4.5
Africa
Northern
0
40
33.3
4.5
2.8
36.4
-
50
41.3
35.4
1.6
8.3
16.1
20
Africa
Developing
Countries
Source: UN, Note: This table shows the calculated rise or fall in the various proportions as from
1990 until the latest measurement. Except for the ratio of underweight children in Urban and
Rural areas, Sub-Saharan Africa lacks behind the rest of the world in all forms of development
on the measured parameter. There was a decline in both the proportion of people on ‘vulnerable
incomes’ and the proportion of employed workers who still live on less then $1.25 a day in 2008
but for reasons which might include the economic crisis, they number rose again in 2009.
Table 3 shows the overall poverty situation on the continent. Tables 4, 5 and 6 are
measurements on target 1:1, which is halving the proportion of people living on less than a
dollar per day; tables 7 and 8 have values on target 1:2, the employment. Tables 9, 10, and 11
are values that explain the hunger situation in Africa.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
25
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
There is high incidence of poverty and hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa and a risk of not being
able to meet the goals, if there is no improvement in the prevailing trend. The situation in
Northern Africa countries is different except for the employment situation. A problem they
share with the Sub-Saharan countries, (table 3). There is therefore the need to step the activities
under the MDG programs.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the poverty gap fell by 19.2%, the overall fall for developing countries
in general was 50% in 2005. There was no change in the North of Africa, (table 4). As
compared to all the developing countries, the decline of 19.2% is small, even when it represents
an improvement.
The number of people living on below $1.25 a day fell from 58% to 51% between 1990 and
2005, a decline of 12% in Sub-Saharan Africa, (table 5). The northern African countries have
5% of the people living on less than a dollar a day and this number even fell by 40%, the overall
fall for developing countries is 41% which indicates the lack in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The
populations in the Sub-Saharan region still need a lift in this regard.
On employment the data shows neither significant decrease nor increase in the period 1998,
2008 and 2009 for Africa in general, (table 6). However, the proportion of people with
vulnerable employment show a decline for all the developing countries in the world,( table 7).
There was a decrease in the number of employed people who live on below $1.25 a day in the
periods up to 2008 but the tendency change towards 2009, (table 8).
There is a decline in the proportion of hungry people. The proportion of undernourished people
decrease sharply between 2002 and 2009 by 3.2% and 16.1% respectively, while the drop stayed
constant with the developing countries in general, (table 9). Table 10 shows that the proportion
of children under the age of 5 that are underweight fell for all the developing countries by 16.1%
from 1990 to 2008. The Sub-Saharan countries recorded a fell of 9.8% and the northern
countries 36.4% in the same period.
It is generally perceived that children who live in rural areas often lack basic necessities to do
well as compared to those in the urban centers, due to lack of decentralization in most African
countries. Table 11, shows almost no differences in proportion in Sub-Saharan Africa regarding
underweight children in both places. The difference is about 90% for all developing countries.
The difference in underweight children in Sub-Saharan African countries between those in
urban areas and the rural areas is lower, 40%. This not due to an increased attention on
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
26
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
decentralization in the region but may be due to the interventions in the rural areas, the villages.
Table 12 simply summaries all the parameters.
7. Case study: Specific interventions:
In order to enhance achieving the goals specific interventions were designed and explicitly linked to
each of the goals. For goal 1, halving poverty and hunger, the following plan was design to ensure
that self-sustaining economic growth was possible, even from village level.

There is generally planting with fertilizer and improved seed, villagers are seeing a
tripling of their harvest and are experiencing a crop surplus for the very first time.
 Agricultural and agro-forestry techniques dramatically increase farm production while
enhancing the environment.
 Vitamin and mineral supplements tackle malnutrition and make children stronger.
 Essential health services provide critical, life-saving medicines and raise productivity.
 Free, daily school lunches using locally produced food support children’s nutrition, learning
capacity, and school attendance while at the same time increase demand for locally produced
food.
 Innovative off-grid energy, water, and information technologies bring not only safe water and
energy, but save many hours spent each day collecting firewood and water.
7.1 The Millennium villages:
To keep the promise both the Northern rich countries and the Southerners set out initiatives and
followed them through. An example is this case study: the millennium villages, which engages
the poor in various anti-poverty activities and projects. These village-level projects are
supported by the bilateral governments in the south, the many United Nations agencies, NGOs,
Universities and Research Institutes, Foundations, and the private sector actors.
The millennium villages are carefully designed to incorporate all the aspects of production
among the locals and offers innovative models for helping rural African communities lift
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
27
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
themselves out of extreme poverty. The intention behind the millennium villages is to
emphasize that by fighting poverty at the village level through community-led development; the
rural Africa can achieve the Millennium goals and escape extreme poverty.
In Africa, there are 80 millennium villages clustered over 14 different sites in 10 countries
aiming at investments in agriculture, health, education, infrastructure and other forms of
business developments. Each cluster site is located in an agro-ecological zone that represents the
farming systems used by about 90% of the agricultural population and occupies about 93% of
the agricultural (arable) land area of Sub-Saharan Africa. Examples are found in Bonsaaso in
Ghana, Poton in Senegal, Sauri in Kenya, Tiby and Toya in Mali, Pampadoa in Nigeria,
Mwandama in Malawi and Maganye in Rwanda, just to mention a few. They demonstrate the
possibility of remedying poverty which has plagued the continent.
Based on advanced science and technology, the project personnel together with the local
population embark on sustainable, community-led action plans that are tailored to the villagers’
need and design to achieve the millennium goals. The villagers are provided with improved
seeds, fertilizers, medicines, clean drinking water and other incentives as they are also taught
scientific methods of land use. These projects are enriched by including science and
technological methods and the provision of insecticide-treated nets against mosquitoes in the
villages, antiretroviral drugs, and access to internet, remote sensing and geographical
information systems. The locals are also equipped with the ability to take over the projects
after the personnel had left-capacity building.
7.1a Progress made by the Projects-(the MVP):
Sauri, Kenya
Population : 65,000
Location: Western Kenya, Yala Division in the Siaya District, Nyanza province.
Area: 8 km2 with 11 villages and household size of 5
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
28
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Economic status: Poor and lacks basic need for economic growth, most rely on remittances from
outside. 60-70% of the population lives on less than $1 a day.
Main occupation: Agriculture. Most household members are Sub-subsistence farmers.
Type of Agriculture: Rain fed, bimodal rainfall, Land area per family, 0.5 hectares
Crops produced: Maize, Beans, Sweet potatoes, Bananas, Plantain, Cassava, Kale, Tomatoes
and Onions.
Production prior to millennium project (MVP) start: An average of 82 kg maize/year/person
Progress-to-Date – MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
 Average maize production in Sauri has increased from 1.9 to 5.0 tons per hectare
 More than 3,800 of Sauri’s farmers also have started growing high-value crops
 Farmers organized into interest producer groups, trained in agronomic practices, and
were linked to potential markets as well as certified agro dealers and microfinance
institutions to obtain loans for agricultural investments
 MVP is also supporting the development of dairy initiatives through trainings and
artificial insemination of cows
 Just 4% of children under the age of 2 are underweight, down from 26%
Source: http://www.millenniumvillages.org/
7.1b Progress made by the Projects (–MVP):
Bonsaaso, Ghana
Population: 35,000
Location: Amansie-west District, Ashanti Region
Main occupation: Farming-Agriculture
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
29
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Type of Agriculture: of Agriculture: Rain fed, bimodal rainfall, Small-scale cash-crops farming
Crop produced: Cassava, plantain, cocoyam, cocoa, yam and maize.
Progress-to-Date - MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
 Average maize yields increased from 2.2 to 4.5 tons per hectare
 Chronic malnutrition has decreased by 27% among children under two
 Development of a community-based management team has supported management
training, links to credit, and transport of products to local markets
 Number of farmers contributing to the school meals programs increased 10 fold from
2009 to 2010 (over 3,000 farmers)
 More than 600 vaccinations were provided to sheep, goats and poultry
8.
Analysis: implications of theory on MDG 1.
Reaching this goal gravely depends on the participation of the Donors on one hand, and the poor
recipients on the other. The goal is then considered met: empowering the Africans so that they
can take care of their lives by living on the projects(-self-sufficiency), and two, making sure that
the inputs in these poverty reduction efforts are not abused, but kept well. That is, the
governments in the receiving countries are not only able to claim ownership of the projects but
also sustain them.
On the side of the Donor, the success of reaching the goals highly depends on consistent
attention on the promise made. Any diversions caused by other challenges, like high energy
needs, climatic changes, forced migration and the like, that may hinder meeting the goals,
should be accorded a different attention. As indicated in NIC’s report on development (NIC,
2008), the struggle over natural resources, climate change, and the growing population of the
continents as well as the interest of the new economic powers may pose new and unforeseeable
challenges in the development of Africa. Shell in 2005, outlined the need for cooperation
between states, the market powers and the civil society, for enhancing development in poor
regions of the world. This is so, because this fight against poverty is only based on voluntary
sacrifices which can be swept away by self-interests.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
30
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
If the establishment of vertical funds; the Global fund for fighting Aids, against Cancer,
Tuberculosis, malaria and philanthropic aid (Marten et al, 2008), which according to the UN has
a huge capacity could be sustained the alleviate diseases that may prevent the poor farmers from
participating in the enhancement projects, this will go a long way to help achieve the require
success on the goal. (See, www.theglobalfund.org/en/pledges,).
The recipient countries must be encouraged and be involved to be able to owe and take
responsibility of the aid projects. It is therefore imperative to encourage social organizations and
in part include their various governments in the decision making process.
Long term eradication of poverty should be the backbone idea in this exercise and must be
desirable. In that the projects in this endeavour must be able to be sustainable and not fragile.
One thing is working to reduce poverty; another thing is sustaining this reduction. The strategies
for fighting poverty should include, strengthening the different Aid actors/workers and
organization, say local NGOs, capacity building, democracy and good governance, last by not
the least, cooperation between donors and recipients will help in this direction.
Africa is different as well as the 52 countries and their people and must be seen as such.
According to Whitfield, most African countries have difficult in meeting certain standards set
out by donor countries (f.ex. the Paris and the Accra declaration, are not met by many), and this
calls for the need to establish compromise in certain instances. The approach to MDG 1 ought to
differ from countries as it should from people to people, in order to be effective.
One important thing in dealing with the individual African is considering the historical aspect of
poverty on the continent. Africa is plagued with violent conflicts and diseases and other adverse
circumstances. It is therefore not doubtful that some of the African countries will fall while
some will be able to stabilize, even with meeting the goals. It is imperative to consider both
causes of poverty in a holistic approach to solving this poverty/hunger adage. That will require
other actions like conflict losing and management, and so on. Empowering the individual that
will have leave his or her village because of civil conflict or a military “coup-De-tat” could only
worsen the situation. There should be a balance between the requirements of the two theories.
Even though the UN sees MDG 1 as the first and the most important, hardly can it stand alone.
People need be health and safe to meet them.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
31
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
There is the dire need for the old actors to partner with the new one. What China, India and
Brazil have in their bags for Africa is yet to be seen. The enormous presence of the Chinese on
the continent, India’s current promise of 5 billion US dollars in credit and loans to Africa to help
meet the millennium goals, as well as Prime Minister Singh’s promise in Ethiopia, to African
with their education and infrastructure, can for now be seen as a step in the right direction
(BBC-online 25/05-2011, www.bbc.co.uk). The desire on the part of the OPEC-countries in
helping Africa, this is different from the 1990s where only about 20 Donors (Kragelund, 2008)
stood alone for about 95% of the donations. It only requires collective efforts in achieving
specific goals.
9. Conclusion:
On the basis of the two poverty theories; poverty due to individual deficiencies and that due
political economic distortion as the underlying concept, the paper is able to analysis some of the
important issues that may be relevant in reducing and/or eradicating poverty. That is, progress
with meeting the millennium development goal one (1) depends on empowering or capacitybuilding the individual as well as encouraging sort of relatively good or effective governance.
Only governments with instruments such the Ministry of Agriculture, the Extension services, the
veterinary service etc, which can support the projects to stand, the poor individual farmers are
too poor to shoulder such responsibility.
The answer to the research question on whether or not the MDG one (1) could be met by 2015
is yes, according to the analyzed data. But this is on the assumption that, the efforts and
conditionality set by most Donors, for example the IMF and the World Bank that packages
ideas, conditions and money together (Gilbert, et, al., 1999) on legitimate governments
(democracy) and good governance (effectiveness) are favorable and workable. Thus, the second
theory of poverty, given by the paper, namely, political and socio-economic distortion and
discrimination are checked and ensured, because effective ruling is and continue to determine
the success of this poverty fight. Most of the farmers in have received community-based
management, but will still have to have a means for getting finance and other logistics.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
32
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
There is a high likelihood that the first goal will be met and hopefully for the rest also. The
global crisis seems to have slowed down progress, but the world is still on track to meet the
poverty reduction target. However, it requires steadfastness and hindrances must be avoided.
There should a constant focus and amendment of areas that seem to lack. One case that could be
cited as an example to explain hindrances that can deter progress in meeting the goals is the
diversion of Aid resources for other agendas, security, for example. Some commentators on
Udlandnyt, 05/2011 (http://www.u-landsnyt.dk), call it a paradox that the Danish government, in
order to secure a better working environment for Aid workers in Afghanistan, had had to divert
some aid money into security in 2003, and others are alarmed by the establishment prisons in
Somalia to curb piracy.
The interventions made through the establishment of the millennium villages had successfully
made significant impacts on MDG 1.
Prior to the crisis, the depth of poverty had diminished in almost all regions (see table 4)
The number of people in the developing region living on less than $1.25 a day reduced from 1.8
billion in 1990 to 1.4 billion in 2005, while the poverty rate dropped from 46% to 27%. This
represents about 42% progress with still 4 years to go.
“The overall poverty rate is still expected to fall to 15% by 2015”, if this is to be believed the
figure for poverty in the world will be 12%, far less than halve the original/starting value,
indicating that the target of the Millennium development Goals can be met. That is to say,
compared to 1990 figures, 920 million people are left to be lifted out of acute poverty and
hunger (UN, 2010).
It was also revealed that the approach towards meeting the goals is diverse and outreaching in
that whereas one country or organization, for example, starts with goal 1, others may choose to
start from goal 3. Even though, the United Nation has estimated that, the MDG 1 will be met, it
is difficult to imagine its sustainability. Halving the degree of poverty and starvation with
teaching advanced farming methods may be able to eliminate poverty and starvation in the short
term, however, other hindrances such as the land tenure system, marketability of produce,
affordability of inputs, and most importantly the lack of irrigation systems and many other
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
33
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
problems with farming in Ghana and Kenya, for example, may render new and different
problems.
Whereas, Ghana has a relatively stable government, Kenya and many others still struggle with
power-sharing. This may result in the difficulty of taking care of the projects after the stipulated
time. Besides, one thing that may be lacking or be quite problematic is the maintenance and the
ability to maintain the projects beyond 2015.
The paper could not deal will all the goals, neither could it exhaust other forms of analysis that
may be of relevance to the topic under discussion. The goals are intertwined, therefore
reviewing the progress on only one of them may not be sufficient to make general conclusions.
That is even when MDG 1 is regarded as standing out as the most essential; its progress depends
on the progress made with the others. For example, how could a sick and ailing Farmer in the
south be able to learn effective farming methods to produce goods that could give him/her
income? It could also not look at all the possible areas of analysis regarding development work.
The paper again fell short of exploring other United Nations poverty projects beside the
millennium village projects. This calls for further research that will investigate the uncovered
aspects of this topic. It will also be of help to research the impact, halving poverty and hunger
could have in the overall eradication of poverty in future.
References:
Anderson, M. B., (1996). Do not harm: Supporting local capacities for peace through aid.
Cambridge, MA: Local capacities for peace projects, collaborative for development action.
Bettinger, F.,(1977). How I raised myself from failure to Success in Selling. New York: Simon
& Schuster.
Bicchi, F. & Martin, M.,(2006). ‘Talking tough and talking together? European security
discourses towards the Mediterranean’ Mediterranean Politics. 11 (2) pp. 189-207.
Blank, M.,R. (1997). It takes a Nation: A new agenda for fighting Poverty. Princeton NJ:
Princeton University Press.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
34
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Blank, M.,R. (2003). Selecting among Anti-poverty Policies: Can an Econnomics Be both
Critical and Caring? Review Of Social Economy Vol. 61 No. 4 pp 447-471.
Bradshaw, T., & Muller, B. (2003). Shaping policy decisions with spatial analysis. In M.F>
Goodchild, & D.G. Janelle (Eds), Spatially integrated social science: Examples in best practice.
New York: Oxford University Press
Bradshaw,T., K. (2006). Theories of Poverty and Anti-poverty Programs in Community
Development, RPRC Working Paper No.06-05
Bryman, A. (2008). Social Research Methods. Third Edition. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Cooper, H., (1998). Synthesizing Research: A guide for Literature Reviews. (3rd Edition) Sage:
Thousands Oaks.
Cowen, M. P., & Shenton, R. W.(1996). Doctrines of development. London & New York:
Routledge
Development Assistance committee (DAC) (2003). A development co-operation lens on
terrorism prevention: Key entry points for action. Paris: OECD Development assistance
committee.
Fischer, C. S., Hout, M., Jankowski, M.S., Lucas, S.R., Swidler, A., & Voss, K (1996).
Inequality by Design: Cracking the Bell Curve Myth. Princeton; Princeton University Press
Foucault, M., (1961). “Folie et deraison” Paris: Libraire Plon.
Friedman, J., (1996). ‘Rethinking Poverty’ : employment and citizen rights. International Social
Science Journal. Vol.148, pp161-172
Gilbert, C., Powell, A., & Vines, D., (1999). ‘Positioning the World Bank’ in Economic Journal
Vol.109, Issue 459 pp 598-633.
Horatio, A.,(1897). ‘Rough and Ready’ (Philadelphia : John Winston co.,) 169
Huntington, S.P., (1967) Political development and the decline of the American society of
World order. Work in Progress. Daedalus. Volume 96. No. 3 pp 97-92
Hyndman, J., & Mountz, A., (2008). Another brick in the Wall? Neo-Refoulement and the
externalization of asylum by Australia and Europe. Government and Opposition. 43(2) pp. 249269
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
35
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
International
development
committee, (1999). Conflict
prevention and post-conflict
reconstruction. Volume 1, Report and proceedings to the committee. London: The stationery
office.
Jennings, J. (1999). Persistent poverty in the United States: Review of theories and Explanation.
In l. Kushnick, & J Jennings (eds), A New introduction to Poverty: The Role of rcae, Power and
Politics. New York University Press.
Jordan, B., (1983) Automatic poverty, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Klein, H.K., & Myers, M.D.(1999) "A set of principles for conducting and evaluating
interpretive field studies in information systems," MIS Quarterly (23:1) p 67.
Kragelund, P., (2008). The return of non-DAC donors to Africa: New prospects for African
development? Development Policy Review. Vol. 26 No. 5 p555-584.
Lavenex, S. & Kunz (2008). ‘The migration-development nexus in EU external relations’
European integration 30 (3), pp 439-457
Levy, C.,(2010). Refugees, Europe, Camps/Sites of Exception: ‘Into the Zone’, The European
Union and Extraterritorial processing of migrants, Refugees, and Asylum-Seekers (Theory and
Practice) refugee Survey Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 1
Marten, R. & Witte, J.M. (2008). Transforming Development? The role of philantropic
foundations in international development cooperation. Global Public Policy Institute.
Menz. G. (2009). ‘Outsourcing migration control: The rise of private actors in the enforcement
and design of migration policy’ paper presented at the European Consortium for Political
Research, 5th General Conference, Potsdam pp 10-12.
NIC, (2008). National Industrial Classification, Central Statistical Organization, Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation, New Delhi, India
Organisation of economic co-operation and development (OECD)(1998). Development
cooperation on the threshold of the 21st century. Paris: OECD.
Oscar, L.,(1966) “the culture of Poverty”. In G. Gmelch & W. Zenner, Eds. Urban Life.
Waveland Press.
Pupavac, V., (2005). Human security and the rise of Global therapeutic governance. Conflict,
developmentnand society 5(2): 161-182
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
36
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
Rainwater, L. (1970). Neutralizing the disinherited: Some psochological aspects of
understanding the poor. In V. L. Allen (eds), Psychological factors in poverty. Chicago,
Markham. Pp 9-28.
Rank, M.R., Yoon, H.S., & Hirschl, T.A.,(2003). “American Poverty as a structural failing:
Evidence and Arguments”. Journal of sociology and social welfare, 30 (4) Pp 3-29
Rank, M. R., (2004). One Nation, Underprivileged. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rodger, G.(1996), ‘What is special about social exclusion approach?’ In Social Exclusion:
Rhetoric, Reality, Responses, edited by Gerry Rodger, Charles Gore and Jose B. Figueredo.
Geneva: ILO
Rural Sociological Society task force on persistent poverty. (1990). Persistent poverty in rural
America. Boulder Westview Press.
Ryan, W.,(1976). Blaming the Victim. New York; Vintage.
Schiller, B. R., (1989). The economics of poverty and discrimination. Englewood Cliffs, NJ;
Prentice Hall
Sen, A (1999). Development as freedom. New York; Anchor.
Shell (2005). Shell global scenarios to 2025: The future business environment-trends, trde-offs
and choices. Washingston: Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Smith, E.,(2008). The Pitfalls and Promises: The Use of Secondary Data Analysis in
Educational Research. British Journal of Educational Studies. Vol. 56. Issue 3 pp 323-339
Styan, D., (2007). ‘Security of Africans beyond borders; Migration, remittances and London’s
transnational entrepreneurs’. International Affairs. 83(6) pp 1171-119
Valentine, C.A. (1968). Culture and Poverty. Chicago: university of Chicago Press.
Weber, M.,(2001). Protestant ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New york; Routelege
World Bank,(2009). Global monitoring Report 2009. Washington: World Bank
Nyhedsbrev fra U-landsnyt.dk] 19 maj 2011 (Newsletter@ U-landsnyt.dk)
United Nations,(2010). ThMillenium Development Goals, 2010.
Valentine, C. A. (1968). “Culture and Poverty”. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
37
Meeting millennium goal one:-halving extreme poverty & hunger
By Kojo Yeboah Francis
38