UAE | Government
Economic crisis pushes about 84m below poverty line
Large number of workers rendered vulnerable
- By Shehab Al Makahleh, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 December 7, 2011
- 20m: children among the poor in Europe
- 1.2b: people below poverty line in the world
Abu Dhabi: Nedim Kaya, adviser at the World Family Organisation, has said estimates suggest that 47 million to 84 million more people fell to or were trapped in extreme poverty because of the global crisis of 2008-2009 period amid threats of more cases due to the current financial crisis.
He was speaking at the seventh World Family Summit in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
"Despite advances made in eradicating poverty and hunger over the last decade, the global economic and financial crisis has placed renewed pressure on the capacity of governments and NGOs to meet the targets set out in Millennium Development Goals," Kaya said.
A recent UN report shows that there are about 1.2 billion people below poverty line on $1.25 (Dh4.58) per day. Another report issued in Europe showed that due to the Eurozone financial crisis, more than 80 million people across the EU live below the poverty line, 20 million of who are children.
Sharp rise
Wanda Engel Aduan, executive superintendent of Instituto Unibanco, stressed that due to the global economic and financial crisis, many families have been gravely affected.
He added that while increased unemployment has been the dominant social impact of the crisis in developed economies, the impact on unemployment in developing countries has been less obvious... While the informal economy and peasant agricultural sector have absorbed much of the impact of formal sector job losses, much larger numbers of workers are now subject to more vulnerable employment in developing countries," Aduan said.
Household expenditure
He warned that the downturn has had wide-ranging negative social outcomes for individuals, families, communities, and societies.
"Poverty and unemployment have been linked to crime, gender-based violence, substance abuse and mental illnesses, ... and suicide," Aduan said.
He added that during financial and economic crisis, families adopted coping strategies such as making changes in household expenditure. "These changes can negatively influence education, health and nutrition outcomes."
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