THE TRUTH ABOUT PHYSICAL POVERTYFacilitated by Victor Cortez
THE TRUTH ABOUT PHYSICAL POVERTY
Facilitated by Victor Cortez
The UNDERSTANDING that we have of poverty determines our RESPONSE to it.
FH’s Mission
“To walk with churches, leaders and families in overcoming all forms of human poverty by living in healthy relationship with God and His creation.”
“As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)
“POVERTY IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL SUFFER”
THE NATIONS AREN’T POOR … THEY PRODUCE POVERTY!
The fruits aren’t produced casually. The fruits are a visible sign of what exists invisibly in the tree. Their poverty doesn’t come from natural resources, capital, etc. But it comes from the worldview of the people. In almost all of the cases, today’s poorest nations were never impacted significantly by the Gospel and its history. Lie Lie Oppression Ignorance Under development Chaos Poverty Injustice Lie
Poverty is consequence of IDEAS
THE NATIONS AREN’T PROSPEROUS … THEY PRODUCE PROSPERITY!
The fruits aren’t produced casually. The fruits are a visible sign of what exists invisibly in the tree. Their wealth don’t come from natural resources, capital, etc. But it comes from the worldview of the people. In almost all the cases, today’s prosperous nations were deeply impacted by the Gospel and its history, or have imitated others that were. Truth Truth Truth Liberty Science Justice Order Development Prosperity
POVERTY AS A SYSTEM OF HELPLESSNESS Adapted from Christian (1994) y Myers (2002)
False worldview Captives to the non-poor Lack of options Cheated by the principalities Damaged identity Weak mind and body BIOPHYSICAL SYSTEM CULTURAL SYSTEM SOCIAL-ECONOMIC SYSTEM PERSONAL SYSTEM SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS SYSTEM
WHO ARE THE MATERIALLY POOR?
“The poor aren’t an ABSTRACTION, but a group of humans that have names, that have been made in the image of God, whose hairs are counted and for whom Jesus died” (Myers 2002, P.60)
WORLD POVERTY MAP
CHRONIC UNDERWEIGHT IN CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS MAP
32% of children < 5 years (178 million) are stunted in all developing countries . SOURCE: FAO - 2004
CHRONIC UNDERWEIGHT IN CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS
REGION % Sub-Saharan Africa 41.15 Latin America & the Caribbean 24.67 South/Southeast Asia 49.85 Eastern Mediterranean 23.28 GLOBAL 30 Source: Socioeconomic inequality in malnutrition in developing countries (WHO 2008)
Malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean
52 million people in this region are undernourished 11 countries have shown little progress and even setbacks in their number of malnourished individuals in 2007 9 million children < 5 years of age are stunted 22.3 million preschool children, 33 million women of childbearing age and 3.6 million pregnant women have anemia
WHY IS CHRONIC MALNUTRITION (STUNTING) IMPORTANT?
It is the best indicator of quality of life. It is a sign of a structural problem and reflects objectively the imbalance of social determinants. Its multi-causality calls for a multi-factorial and multi-sectorial approach It is strongly associated with the individual and social development of the country It is useful to assess inequalities among regions and communities
WHY IS CHRONIC MALNUTRITION (STUNTING) IMPORTANT?
To reduce poverty, there must be policies, strategies and programs specifically tackling chronic malnutrition. The prevalence of chronic malnutrition is a relevant and valid measure of endemic poverty and is a better indicator than estimates of per capita income. Persistent high prevalence of stunting among children indicates chronic failure in poverty alleviation.
Investing in Malnutrition: a Prerequisite for Reducing Poverty
Source: Alderman, Harold (2004). Linkages Between Poverty Reduction Strategies and Child Nutrition.
Chronic Malnutrition has a High Economic Cost
When children die or are chronically ill, there are increased health care costs and future productivity losses Impaired brain development impacts school performance, causing added costs in the education sector Malnutrition causes low(er) productivity in adult life Due to the above issues, Latin America’s Gross Domestic Product is negatively impacted by an estimated $6.7 billion annually!
GUATEMALA
118th position of 177 countries in the Human Development Index 40% profess evangelical faith 25,000 churches. In FH work areas there are 3 to 6 churches in every community 3rd place in social violence in Latin America 1.1 million women and men have immigrated out 92% urban and 54% rural areas have running water 72% urban and 52% rural areas have basic sanitation Average of 5.6 years of schooling in urban settings, 2.2 years in indigenous children
Poverty Index
Source: UNDP (2005)
Chronic Malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean
Source: IADB (2008)
Chronic Malnutrition in Rural Areas
Segundo Censo Nacional de Talla 2002 - Ministerio de Educación, FAO, PMA, UNICEF, USAID, Universidad de San Carlos FH/Guatemala Baseline Result (July 2008) 71.5% malnutrition
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