Committee: United Nations Development Program
Topic: Eradication of Poverty
Country: Denmark
Delegate: Ethan Sinke
School:Williamston High School
Eradicating poverty is a great challenge facing the world today that will require many tools to solve. Oftentimes as countries work towards improving poverty within, there is a heavier focus on improving the symptoms of poverty rather than the root of it. At the center of this poverty debacle is the unfair economic system that pervades much of the world; a system which rewards people for exploiting workers, essentially increasing the gap between rich and poor.
Currently, Denmark does not struggle with high levels of poverty. In fact, currently only 0.5% of Denmark’s population lives under $5.50 a day, meaning that virtually none of the country’s population lives below the poverty line. However, around 17% of the country is at risk of falling into poverty, so while the issue is not widespread or dire, it is still a concern for the nation. The main reason why Denmark’s poverty level is so low is their focus on social welfare spending rather than primarily spending on economic growth or industrialization. In Denmark people receive generally higher wages than in other countries and low-income citizens are given the opportunity to take vocational programs to generate skilled workers with more potential, which means their population is rarely hurting for money.
What Denmark would like to see the most out of committee is a resolution that focuses on encouraging countries to allocate more of their government spending towards social welfare. Government spending that is primarily focused on improving the economy serves to help the already rich rather than assist the struggling, and Denmark would like to see fewer countries following this practice. Furthermore, Denmark is interested in a resolution that includes funding for and helps put in place more training and vocational programs that allow workers who are struggling with low income become skilled enough to move into a job that generates much more adequate wages. Although ending poverty will be a tough challenge to face, Denmark believes that keeping in mind the idea that increased comfort of all citizens is more important than the extreme and excessive comfort of a few will guide this committee to create solutions that really do eradicate poverty.
- Ethan Sinke
