2.8.1:Definition of poverty
Poverty is a condition in which a person of community is
deprived of the basic essentialsand necessities for a minimum standard of
living. Since poverty is understood in manysenses, the basic essentials may be
material resources such as food, safe drinking water and shelter, or they may
be social resources such as access to information, education,health care,
social status, political power, or the opportunity to develop
meaningfulconnections with other people in society.
According to the World Bank's (1980) definition of poverty,
«A condition of life socharacterized by malnutrition, illiteracy, and
disease as to be beneath any reasonabledefinition of human decency».
Ghalib Assad K. (2007)
The (World Bank 1998; 6), acknowledge that poverty can defined
by considering different elements; level of income of population social
indicators such as of illiteracy or asses to health care. So it defines poverty
as condition of life characterized by malnutrition, diseases and no asses to
health facilities, state of illiteracy.
Poverty is the social-economic phenomenon where by the
resources available to a society are used to satisfy the needs the few while
the majority do not have these necessities met (KUREIN 1986; 64).
According to (Thomas Stephen 1998; 6) Poverty is
milt-dimensional phenomenon consisting of a number of different
characteristics. He further indicated that incomes, demographic, health and
education and social conditions found at community and households' levels need
to be inclusive among those characteristics.
Poverty many refer to lack of physical necessities such as
food and clothing, assets and incomes. It is perceived as a problem when levels
of disposable income and resources are inadequate to support a minimum standard
of living. So poverty is defined by many people living below specified minimum
level of income, an imaginary internal poverty line and such line knows no
limit and is independent of nation per capita income (Michael P. Todaro,
1994;261).
According to the Clark E. Cochman et al(1994; 208) defined
poverty in two ways,namely;absolute and relative poverty.
Absolute poverty refers to minimum level of well being in
nutrition, shelter, clothing, etc. Then what determines sufficient income is to
maintain this level by considering family size and other factors such as ages
of family members and location.
Relative poverty on the other hand does not relate to a
particular level of material well being members of the society.
Here, a family is considered poor if its resources place it
well below a normal standard of living no matter how extravagant that standard
might be.
Thus relative poverty definition defines poverty as any family
income below one half the nation's medium family income.
According to (Renate Schubert 1994; 18), relative poverty is
where the subjects under consideration are poor in relation to others who
remain to be more closely specified.
In the book entitled «Uganda growing out of poverty»
defines poverty by using two approaches; relative and absolute poverty (World
Bank 1993; 18).
Relative poverty means that some people are poorer than
others. This is realized when the different between the richest and the poorest
is intolerable. This is in the sense that the poor are deprived of many goods
and services which others take for granted. In general, relative poverty is
when the people are defined as the poor relation to the community they use as
reference group.
Absolute poverty means that lack of food, assets and cash. It
is a condition degraded by diseases, illiteracy and malnutrition to deny people
basic human necessity.
It is thus a condition of not able to obtain the basic needs
of life or where deprivation is severalthat basic needs of life can scarcely be
met. It is important to remember that experience and effect of poverty are
unique for each individual, household and community and that no two people
experience it in the same way. For analytical and policy development purposes
we need some standardized definitions of poverty at all these levels
(PRSP:2000).
At an individual level, a man or a woman is considered poor
if they are; confronted by a complex of inter-inked problems and can't solve
them; do not have enough land, income and other resources to satisfy their
basic needs.
At household level, land owned, household size and the
characteristics of the head of households were important criteria for poverty
definition.
At community level, the shortage of economic and social
infrastructure and natural resources are important criteria for poverty
analysis.
According to Tony Belton et al(1982;94), poverty is then
essentially a relative concept, a condition measurable in terms of living
standards and resources of any society at a particular time. For instance a
person seen as poor in Britain in 1981 will have better absolutely living
standard than someone living in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. People are poor in
their incomes, even if adequate for survival, fall markedly below those of the
community (Galbraith 1987; 252).
In generally; poverty can be defined as a state of
«deprivation» which may take several forms; it may be personal,
economic, social, cultural or political.
Personal or physical deprivation includes deprivation in term
of health, nutrition, disability, human capital, emotional deprivation is and
confidence.
Economic deprivation isin term of incomes, asset, access to
market, access to public facilities and environment resources.
Cultural deprivation would mean people deprived of beliefs,
knowledge, value, information and altitude.Political deprivation is seen in
terms of deprivation of voice at local, provincial or national level.
Social deprivation involves barriers to full participation in
social, political and economic life.
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