Solutions to Poverty
It's certainly complicated but not impossible. The world has enough resources for everyone – they’re just not distributed equally.
Millennium Development Goals
“Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural,
it is man-made and can be overcome
by the actions of mankind”
– Nelson Mandela
In 2000, our world leaders, all 191 member-countries of the United Nations, both rich and poor, committed themselves to achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs are an 8-point action plans for tackling both the causes and the effects of poverty. If realised, these goals will halve extreme poverty by 2015.
Related Links
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What are the Millenium Development Goals ?
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Learn More about the Millenium Development Goals
Our Responsibility - Goal 8
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are not just general statements of world hopes – they set out clear and achievable targets for action.
To achieve the Goals, developing countries will need an injection of resources and changes to global rules including:
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More and better foreign aid
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Trade justice
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Debt relief
This forms the basis of what the Make Poverty History campaign: normal people asking rich governments to fulfil their promise.
The World Bank estimates that approximately US$50–70 billion per year in additional assistance is needed to achieve the MDGs, roughly doubling current levels of assistance. This sounds a lot, but not when you compare it to the US$1000 billion currently spent on defense worldwide.
1. Trade Justice
- Fight for rules that ensure governments, particularly in poor countries, can choose the best solutions to end poverty and protect the environment. These will not always be free trade policies.
- End export subsidies that damage the livelihoods of poor rural communities around the world.
- Make laws that stop big business profiting at the expense of people and the environment.
