Results for poverty

Despite the clear evidence linking poverty to psychological distress, policies tackling poverty do not typically take shame into account. ... Being poor is a highly shameful experience, degrading one’s dignity and sense of self-worth. While the manifestations and causes of poverty differ, the humiliation that accompanies it is universal. Recent research conducted at the University of Oxford found that from China to the United Kingdom, people facing economic hardship – even children – experience a nearly identical assault on their pride and self-esteem.

The latest Asian Development Bank Report on our country shows that twenty-two and one-half percent (22.5%) of our people in Tonga live below the poverty line!! That is a national shame! Shame on our government! Shame on our rulers! Shame on us as people! – Peni Katoa.

The United Nations recently claimed that the Millennium Development Goal that focused on primary education increased global enrolment from 83% to 91%. Despite these gains, today it is estimated that 124 million children do not attend school and 757 million adults are illiterate.

“Hardship” is the new word describing poverty in the Pacific Islands, where “the label of poverty is considered culturally inappropriate,” according to a report released by the World Bank this week, that highlights the increasing concerns over the vulnerability of many people living in its 11 member countries.

Today (November 15), the World Bank Board of Directors approved a US$1.8 million grant for Tonga, to help strengthen the economy and improve critical service delivery for its population of 104,000 people.

In a world that has 1.6 billion people who are overweight, the biggest challenge to mobilizing action against hunger is that hunger is becoming invisible in places, "and in a world exploding with prosperity and possibility we have become morally bankrupt, we have lost the sense of compassion. . .," UN Messenger of Peace HRH Princess Haya Al Hussein said this weekend, appealing to leaders who can make a difference for the rural poor. - By Mary Lyn Fonua

East Timor's government, angered by published reports of famine deaths it denies, has severed relations with one of the country's two daily newspapers, Suara Timor Lorosae.