United Nations Development Programme
The Eradication of Poverty
Amaya Holman
The Republic of Azerbaijan
Forest Hills Eastern High School
In today’s society around the world, more than 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day. That is clearing not enough for the average person that needs daily necessities like healthy food, clean water, and proper personal hygiene products. The result of not having proper resources has negative effects, especially amongst children. According to “UNICEF” 22,000 children a day die because of poverty but first it leads up to first not having access to the right and safe resources. For example 750 million people don’t have access to safe drinking water leaving them having to drink and use water that may be contaminated with germs and dangerous bacteria which can be a result in many cases people getting Diarrhea and Pneumonia.These illness are caused by inadequate drinking water, sanitation and hand hygiene. Killing an estamined 842,000 globally each year, also taking lives of 2 million children who can’t afford proper treatment. Besides not being able to get resources a lot of these countries that have a high poverty rate don’t have great government benefits or healthcare. Countries like the Republic of Sierra Leone that have only 22 physicians for every million people and about 60% of the rural population does not have access to safe adequate clean water and with the healthcare score of 0.00 this is a good example to why poverty is a problem and it affects many people daily.
The Republic of Azerbaijan believes poverty is a huge problem. In 2004 four million people in Azerbaijan lived in poverty. But statistics today show only about 500,000 live in poverty due to the rapid growth in the economy and benefits that has helped people of the Republic of Azerbaijan. For example, the constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic provides the rights for people to get social security upon reaching an age established by law, in the event of illness, disability, loss of breadwinner and inability to work which has played a valuable role in helping decrease the number of people in poverty. Additionally, the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan on “Minimum living standards”, “Targeted state social assistance”, “Social benefits” and “Labor pension”, were adopted to strengthen the social protection of low-income segments of the population. To provide employment for the country’s able-bodied population, the “Employment Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan” was adopted, along with two state programs adopted for its implementation, and work has been carried out on their basis to improve labor market regulation, stimulate the demand for workforce, develop the human capital, provide employment for socially vulnerable population groups, and strengthen the social protection of jobseekers and unemployed persons.
The Republic of Azerbaijan believes in lowering the poverty rate by using strategies from the Sustainable Development Goals including industrial and agricultural development, improvement of electricity, heat and gas supply, communications, water supply and sanitation services, use of the environment and natural resources, and construction and reconstruction of education, health, culture and sports facilities. These are factors that enabled the Republic of Azerbaijan to reduce the poverty rate from 49% to around 4% in twenty years.
- Amaya Holman
