10 Solutions to Poverty解決貧困的十種方案

鄒慧

To many， the idea of finding solutions to poverty is a big and seemingly impossible undertaking， considering that 1.4 billion people in developing countries live on less than $1.25 a day. Another 842 million people， or one in eight people， do not have enough to eat， today. Almost two billion people lack access to clean water and 22，000 children die each day due to conditions of poverty.

These kinds of statistics are discouraging.

The good news is that there are solutions to poverty， they can happen， and poverty can be radically reduced， if not completely eradicated.

1. Creating good jobs

Creating jobs is a great way to reduce poverty. When people have jobs， they have income， and when people have income， they can more easily get themselves out of poverty. The U.N. says that “unemployment and underemployment lies at the core of poverty. For the poor， labor is often the only asset they can use to improve their well-being.”

2. Educating women

The education of girls and women impacts the rest of the societies in which these girls and women live. A woman’s degree of education is linked to the age at which she marries and has children， to her health and diseases， to her economic opportunities， to her social standing， and to her general future well-being.

3. Raising wages

“A full-time worker with two children earning the minimum wage will still raise his or her family in poverty.” And this is an issue in almost every other country， especially in developing nations. Raising the minimum wages could potentially increase the health and well-being of millions.

4. Microfinancing

Microfinance is defined as the “supply of loans， savings， and other basic financial services to the poor.” Right now， only about 10 percent of the global population has access to traditional banking， according to the Gates Foundation. However， using microfinance， people who are unemployed or who have a low income could get small loans to help them become self-sufficient. An organization called Kiva has provided more than $329 million to 786，000 borrowers， with a repayment rate of 98.97%. Microfinance is a promising way to alleviate poverty.

5. Gender equality

As the U.N. Development Programme says， “when women have equal access to education， and go on to participate fully in business and economic decision-making， they are a key driving force against poverty.” Not only this， but better gender equality raises household incomes and “translates into better prospects and greater well-being of children，” which is a smart way to reduce the poverty for future generations as well as our own.

6. Transparency in government spending

Creating transparency in government spending of money can help reduce corruption in governments. When governments are accountable to their citizens for their action， or inaction， in different areas of the federal budget， the citizens will be able to accurately assess how well their leaders are leading their country. Also， it allows citizens to see if money is being taken away from poverty-reduction plans and into the pockets of their leaders， which could be a cause of a stagnant economy or job market.

7. Canceling national debts

As mentioned by Share the World’s Resources， “It is internationally recognized that the debt burden of the world’s poorest， most indebted countries has to be tackled if they are to set themselves on a path of sustainable growth， development， and poverty reduction.” This is why the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have created the Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries （HIPCs）. The initiative helps with the debt relief to currently 23 poor countries （mostly in Africa） that are committed to eradicating poverty. There have been successes in a few countries thus far， and this initiative can help governments “get back on their feet” so that they can focus on developing for the future instead of trying to pay back what was spent in the past.

8. Access to healthcare

The President of the World Bank， Jim Yong Kim， says that he believes “universal health insurance coverage in all countries can help achieve a goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.” He says that because about 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty every year by having to spend money on health issues， and that because health issues push about another 150 million into severe financial hardship， universal health insurance could greatly relieve poverty， globally.

9. Access to clean water and sanitation

The World Bank says that access to clean water and sanitation is “one of the most cost-effective development interventions， and is critical for reducing poverty.” The reasons for this are that women can use the time that they would have spent fetching water to work and produce more， agricultural production could increase， and the costs of services and goods could go down. Not only that， but because diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation cause “the most significant child health problems worldwide，” having access to clean water could significantly lower the healthcare burden for many children.

10. Nutrition， especially in infants

Adequate nutrition is an incredibly important indicator of a person’s ability to get out of poverty， later in life. Those who are malnourished from the time of conception to 24 months， postpartum “have a higher risk of lifelong physical and mental disability.” Because of this， they are “often trapped in poverty，” and are not able to make the full contribution to the “social and economic development of their households and communities， as adults.”

發(fā)展中國(guó)家有14億人每天的生活費(fèi)用不足1.25美元，鑒于此，對(duì)許多人來(lái)說(shuō)，尋求脫貧之法是一項(xiàng)似乎難以完成的艱巨任務(wù)。另有8.42億人，即1/8的世界人口，沒(méi)有充足的食物。由于貧困，近20億人無(wú)法獲取潔凈水，每天有2.2萬(wàn)兒童夭折。

這些統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)令人沮喪不已。

令人欣慰的是，現(xiàn)在有了解決貧困問(wèn)題的辦法，而且能付諸實(shí)施。即使不能完全消除貧困，也能大大減少貧困。

1. 創(chuàng)造良好就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)

創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)是減少貧困的有效途徑。有工作，就有收入，有收入，脫貧就不再是難事。聯(lián)合國(guó)認(rèn)為，“失業(yè)和就業(yè)不充分是貧困的核心所在。對(duì)窮人來(lái)說(shuō)，勞動(dòng)力往往是他們可以用來(lái)提升幸福感的唯一資產(chǎn)”。

2. 女性教育

女孩和婦女的教育影響到她們所處社會(huì)的其他方面。婦女的教育程度與婚育年齡、健康與疾病、經(jīng)濟(jì)機(jī)會(huì)、社會(huì)地位以及未來(lái)的總體幸福感有關(guān)。

3. 提高薪資水平

“一個(gè)領(lǐng)取最低工資的全職工人，如果養(yǎng)育兩個(gè)孩子，全家仍會(huì)生活在貧困之中。”幾乎所有國(guó)家，尤其是發(fā)展中國(guó)家都存在這一問(wèn)題。提高最低工資標(biāo)準(zhǔn)有望提高數(shù)百萬(wàn)人的健康水平和福祉。

4. 小額信貸

小額信貸是指“向窮人提供貸款、儲(chǔ)蓄和其他基本金融服務(wù)”。蓋茨基金會(huì)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，目前，全球僅有大約10%的人口能夠使用傳統(tǒng)銀行業(yè)務(wù)。然而，小額信貸可使失業(yè)者或者低收入者獲得小額貸款，實(shí)現(xiàn)自給自足。一個(gè)名為“基瓦”的組織已經(jīng)向78.6萬(wàn)借款人提供了超過(guò)3.29億美元的貸款，還款率為98.97%。由此可見(jiàn)，小額信貸是一條前景可期的扶貧路徑。

5. 性別平等

如聯(lián)合國(guó)開(kāi)發(fā)計(jì)劃署所言，“婦女享有平等的教育機(jī)會(huì)，進(jìn)而全面參與商業(yè)和經(jīng)濟(jì)決策，就會(huì)成為脫貧的核心驅(qū)動(dòng)力”。不僅如此，性別更平等，可以提高家庭收入，“給孩子造就更好的未來(lái)，帶來(lái)更大的福祉”。性別平等是減貧的智慧之舉，不僅利在當(dāng)代，也利在后代。

6. 政府支出透明

提高政府資金支出的透明度有助于減少政府的腐敗行為。如果政府就聯(lián)邦預(yù)算不同領(lǐng)域的作為或不作為向公民負(fù)責(zé)，那么公民就能對(duì)其領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力準(zhǔn)確評(píng)估。此外，提高政府開(kāi)支的透明度，公民也能了解政府資金是否從扶貧計(jì)劃向領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的口袋轉(zhuǎn)移。中飽私囊也許是經(jīng)濟(jì)或就業(yè)市場(chǎng)停滯的一個(gè)原因。

7. 取消國(guó)債

如《分享世界資源》所述：“國(guó)際上普遍認(rèn)為，世界上最貧窮、負(fù)債最多的國(guó)家要走上可持續(xù)增長(zhǎng)、發(fā)展和減貧之路，就必須解決好債務(wù)負(fù)擔(dān)問(wèn)題?！边@也是國(guó)際貨幣基金組織和世界銀行共同發(fā)起“重債窮國(guó)計(jì)劃”的緣起。該計(jì)劃幫助減輕志在脫貧的23個(gè)貧窮國(guó)家（主要在非洲）的債務(wù)。迄今為止，一些國(guó)家已經(jīng)取得了成功。這個(gè)計(jì)劃有助于窮國(guó)政府“重新振作”，以便集中精力為未來(lái)謀求發(fā)展，而不是想著用新錢(qián)還舊賬。

8. 醫(yī)療保健可及

世界銀行前行長(zhǎng)金墉說(shuō)，他相信“所有國(guó)家的全民健康保險(xiǎn)體制有助于達(dá)成2030年消除極端貧困的目標(biāo)”。他說(shuō)，每年約有1億人因不得不花錢(qián)治病而陷入極端貧困，還有約1.5億人因治病而生活窘迫，全民健康保險(xiǎn)體制則可以在全球極大緩解此類(lèi)問(wèn)題引起的貧困。

9. 潔凈水和衛(wèi)生條件可及

世界銀行認(rèn)為，潔凈水和衛(wèi)生條件可及是“最具成本效益的發(fā)展性干預(yù)措施之一，對(duì)減少貧困至關(guān)重要”。其原因是，婦女不用費(fèi)時(shí)取水，會(huì)有更多時(shí)間去從事勞動(dòng)和生產(chǎn)活動(dòng)，使農(nóng)業(yè)產(chǎn)量提高、服務(wù)和商品成本降低。不僅如此，飲用水不安全和衛(wèi)生條件差引發(fā)的疾病造成“全世界最嚴(yán)重的兒童健康問(wèn)題”，能夠喝上潔凈水可大大減輕許多兒童的醫(yī)療保健負(fù)擔(dān)。

10. 保證營(yíng)養(yǎng)，尤其是嬰兒的營(yíng)養(yǎng)

營(yíng)養(yǎng)是否充足是衡量一個(gè)人未來(lái)脫貧能力的極其重要的指標(biāo)。婦女從懷孕到孕后24個(gè)月?tīng)I(yíng)養(yǎng)不良，則產(chǎn)后“終生身心殘疾的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)較高”。因此，她們“經(jīng)常陷入貧困”，而且“作為成年人”，也無(wú)法為“家庭和社區(qū)的經(jīng)濟(jì)社會(huì)發(fā)展”貢獻(xiàn)出全部力量。

（譯者單位：廣東外語(yǔ)外貿(mào)大學(xué)高級(jí)翻譯學(xué)院）