the truth about physical poverty
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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 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
THE TRUTH ABOUT PHYSICAL POVERTYFacilitated 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!
1. The fruits aren’t produced casually.
2. The fruits are a visible sign of what exists invisibly in the tree.
3. Their poverty doesn’t come from natural resources, capital, etc. But it comes from the worldview of the people.
4. In almost all of the cases, today’s poorest nations were never impacted significantly by the Gospel and its history.
LieLie
Oppression
Ignorance Underdevelopment
Chaos
Poverty
Injustice
Lie
THE NATIONS AREN’T PROSPEROUS … THEY PRODUCE PROSPERITY!
1. The fruits aren’t produced casually.
2. The fruits are a visible sign of what exists invisibly in the tree.
3. Their wealth don’t come from natural resources, capital, etc. But it comes from the worldview of the people.
4. In almost all the cases, today’s prosperous nations were deeply impacted by the Gospel and its history, or have imitated others that were.
TruthTruth
Truth
Liberty
Science
JusticeOrder
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
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
56.0%
6.3%
85.5% 83.9%76.8%
81.8%
16.0%
0.4%
29.5% 29.1% 29.3%
38.2%
% of general poverty ** % of extreme poverty **
Source: UNDP (2005)
Chronic Malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean
ChileRep. Dominicana
JamaicaTrinidad y Tobago
ArgentinaCosta RicaBarbadosUruguayGuyana
BrasilColombia
VenezuelaMéxico
ParaguayBelice
PanamáEl SalvadorNicaragua
HaitiEcuador
PerúHonduras
BoliviaGuatemala
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 1.3 1.6
2.8 3.6 4.2
6.0 7.0
10.6 10.8 11.0 12.0 12.5 12.7 13.7
17.9 18.2 18.9
20.2 23.0 23.2 24.1 24.7
26.5 49.3
Source: IADB (2008)
Chronic Malnutrition in Rural Areas
National
Average
Guatemala
City
Nebaj
San Juan C
otzal
San Cris
tobal Vera
paz
San Juan C
hamelc
o 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%49%
24 %
82.00% 82%64% 60%
Stunting in Municipalities
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
Consequences of Chronic MalnutritionThe critical window for a child's optimal physical/ mental growth and development is under age 2.
If the opportunity is missed, the child will be adversely affected for the rest of his/her life.
Consequences of Chronic Malnutrition II
Children who suffer from chronic malnutrition fail to grow to their full genetic
potential, both mentally and physically (Matte, 2001).
Chronic Malnutrition Framework
The UNDERSTANDING
that we have of poverty
determines our
RESPONSE to it.
The two tragedies of the world´s poorThe first tragedy: Jeffrey Sachs notes that 30,000 children die every day from extreme poverty. For example, 1,8 million children die annually from diarrhea that could be prevented with 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy
But there is a second tragedy: the West has spent $2.3 trillion on foreign aid over five decades, and babies with diarrhea are still not getting 10-cent doses of oral rehydration therapy
William Easterly, The White Man´s Burden
THANK YOU!
! ALL THE GLORY TO GOD!