Poverty in Pakistan By: Kiran Aftab Rameesha Sameer Rida Malik and Samiha Zehra Information Poverty is the lack of basic human needs, such as clean water , nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution. Relative poverty is the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country, or compared to worldwide averages. Poverty in Pakistan is a growing concern, as it is a developing country. Although the middle-class has grown in Pakistan to 35 million, nearly onequarter of the population is classified poor as of October 2006. As of 2008, 17.2% of the total population lives below the poverty line, which is the lowest figure in the history of Pakistan. Causes of Poverty Lack of education: The literacy rate of Pakistan is very low. Most of people do not have any concept about the modern earning sources. Most people are unable to adopt technology for their business needs, that’s why business do not meet international standards and results as decrease in revenue which lead the society to poor financial conditions. Materialism: In our society social bonding are gradually becomes thinner and thinner. A race of material object has been started even no one tried to understand the problems of others. Every one is gradually changing from human to a bioman which only know about his needs and have no concept about the limitations of others. People are not ready to help each other. At last every one has lose his trust on others which effect our social and economic system and it is another cause of poverty. Large Scale Import: The import of Pakistan is greater than export. Big revenue is consumed in importing good every year, even raw material has to import for industry. If we decrease import and establish own supply chains from our country natural resources the people will have better opportunities to earn. Division of Agricultural land: Pakistan is an agricultural country. Most of people are farmers by profession. One has land which is fulfilling the needs of his family but he has to divide the land into his children when they got young. After division the land is not sufficient to support a family. Now the families of his children are suffering and spending their lives below poverty line. Moral Culture: The main reason for poverty is the social dishonesty and irresponsible behavior of people. Every one is trying to get rich by using unfair means. A shop keeper is ready to get whole money from the pocket of customer. People doing jobs are not performing their duties well. In society the man considered brave or respectful who do not pay taxes or continuously violate the laws. This irresponsible behavior continuously increases and produces loss for the country. Criterion of Poor: The criterion of poor is that if a person is not earning US $367.00 per is year considered poor but this was repeated later on the criterion is changed and now it’s US $ 2.00 per day. Effects of poverty  Diseases are more widely spread because poor people cannot afford hygienic foods and pure drinking water which is much expensive.  Many infants born into poverty have a low birth weight, which is associated with many preventable mental and physical disabilities. Not only are these poor infants more likely to be irritable or sickly, they are also more likely to die before their first birthday.  Poor families experience much more stress than middleclass families. Besides financial uncertainty, these families are more likely to be exposed to series of negative events and “bad luck,” including illness, depression, eviction, job loss, criminal victimization, and family death.  Homelessness, or extreme poverty, carries with it a particularly strong set of risks for families, especially children. Homeless children are less likely to receive proper nutrition and immunization. They experience more health problems. Homeless women experience higher rates of lowbirth-weight babies, miscarriages, and infant mortality, probably due to not having access to adequate prenatal care for their babies. Homeless families experience even greater life stress than other families, including increased, family relationships, and friendships. Solutions to poverty Poverty will never end unless there are real solutions to end it; solutions based on economic justice and political changes. 1. The full equality between men and women in public as well as private areas of life, a worldwide minimum wage of $20 per day and the end of child labor under the age of 16 with the creation of a subsidy for scholarship. 2. The guarantee of shelter, healthcare, education, food and drinking water as basic human rights that must be provided free to all. 3. A total redistribution of idle lands to landless farmers and the imposition of a 50% cap on arable land devoted to products for export per country, with the creation of a worldwide subsidy for organic agriculture. 4. An end to private monopoly ownership over natural resources, with a minimum of 51% local communal ownership in corporations, which control such resources as well as the termination of intellectual property rights on pharmaceutical drugs.  5. The cancellation of third world debt with no reciprocal obligations attached and the payment of compensation to Third World countries for historical as well as ecological debt. 6. An obligation of total transparency for any corporation with more than 100 employees and a 1% tax on all benefits distributed to shareholders of corporations to create unemployment funds. 7. The termination of tax havens around the world as well as free flow of capital in developing countries. 8. An equal voting for developing countries in international organizations such as IMF, World Bank, WTO, and the termination of veto right for the permanent members of the UN Security Counsel. 8. A commitment by industrialized countries to decrease carbon emission by 50% over a ten-year period as well as reducing by 25% each developed country%u2019s consumption of natural resources. People in poverty