Lecturer: Dr. Kingsley Nyarko , Department of Psychology Contact - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

College of Education School of Continuing and Distance Education

2014/2015 – 2016/2017

Lecturer: Dr. Kingsley Nyarko, Department of Psychology Contact Information: knyarko@ug.edu.gh

Session Overview

At the end of the session, the student will be able to

• Explain why and how psychology is needed in

poverty alleviation strategies.

• Analyze the implications of poverty on national

development.

Slide 2

Session Outline

The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:

• Introduction/Background
• Explanation of Poverty
• Poverty in Ghana

Slide 3

Reading List

• Mehryar, A.H. (1984). The role of psychology in National

Development: Wishful thinking and Reality. Int. Journal of Psychology, 19, 159-167.

• Moghaddam, F.M., Bianchi, K., Daniels, K., Apter, M.J., &

Harré, R. (1999). Psychology and National Development. Psychology & Developing Societies, 11, 119-141.

• 50th Session of the Commission for Social Development

Caucus of the Psychology Coalition at the United Nations (2012). Psychological Contributions on Empowerment for The Eradication of Poverty.

Slide 4

INTRODUCTION

Topic One

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Introduction

• In 1992, the UN declared that in each year, 17th October is

the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of

• Poverty. The day is for governments to promote awareness
• f the need to eradicate poverty and destitution

worldwide, especially in developing countries.

• In December 1995, the United Nations General Assembly

proclaimed the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006). In the year 2000, world leaders committed to the Millennium Development Goals which included reducing by half the number of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015.

Slide 6

Introduction

• Achieving the MDG goal of reducing world poverty by

50% by 2015 required the cooperative effort of many disciplines (O’Neill Berry, 2011). This goal has been achieved.

• Poverty reduction has traditionally been within the

domain of economics, and psychology has not featured prominently in addressing this crucial global issue.

• However, the UN Secretary-General’s Report on Poverty

Eradication (E/CN.5/2012/3) acknowledges that poverty is multidimensional.

Slide 7

Introduction

Global poverty today…

• World poverty today is severe and becoming worse with the

downturn in world economy. A look at the statistics is serious!

• For example, more than two billion people live on less than

two dollars a day,

• Between 26,000 and 30,000 children die each day due to

poverty.

• Over one-quarter of all children in low-income countries are

estimated to be underweight or stunted, with most living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (Shah, 2009).

• The poorest 40% of the world’s population account for only

5% of global income.

Slide 8

Introduction

Global attempt to reduce…

• The first UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG-1) was

to reduce extreme poverty and hunger by 50% by 2015 (United Nations, 2008).

• This goal has been achieved.
• The effects of the current financial crisis could reduce

demand for developing countries’ exports, as well as the availability of credit and foreign direct investment to finance projects (Dervis, 2008).

• The economic future of the world looks bleak but even

worse for those already suffering from the effects of poverty.

Slide 9

Sample Questions

• 1. Explain why and how psychology is needed in the

alleviation of poverty in the country?

• 2. To what extent is poverty a threat to national

development?

Slide 10

POVERTY DEFINED

Topic Two

Slide 11

Poverty Defined

• From a study on the views of the poor on poverty, a

respondent said:

``Don’t ask me what poverty is because you have met it outside my

• house. Look at the house and count the number of holes. Look at my

utensils and the clothes that I am wearing. Look at everything and write what you see. What you see is poverty. –A poor man, Kenya 1997``

Slide 12

Poverty Defined

• Poverty is a multidimensional social phenomenon and

thus its definition and causes vary by gender, age, culture, and other social and economic contexts (Sen, 1997; Foster & Sen, 1997).

• For instance in Ghana, it is reported that men associate

poverty with a lack of material assets, whereas for women, it is defined as food insecurity. Again, younger men in Ghana consider the ability to generate income as the most important asset, whereas older men cite as most important the status connected to a traditional agricultural lifestyle (Awaworyi & Danso, 2010).

Slide 13

Poverty Defined

• Poverty in its most general sense is the lack of

necessities, basic food, shelter, medical care, and safety are generally thought necessary based on shared values of human dignity. Valentine (reported in Bradshaw, 2006) says that “the essence of poverty is inequality. In slightly different words, the basic meaning of poverty is relative deprivation” (p 4).

Slide 14

Poverty Defined

• According to the World Bank “The most commonly used

way to measure poverty is based on incomes. A person is considered poor if his or her income level falls below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the “poverty line”.

• What is necessary to satisfy basic needs varies across

time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines vary in time and place, and each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of development, societal norms and values” (Awaworyi & Danso, 2010, p10).

Slide 15

Poverty Defined

Sachs (2005) has identified three major levels of poverty

• Extreme Poverty—thus households cannot meet basic needs

such as food, lack of basic health care, lack of proper shelter, lack of portable drinking water, lack of education.

• Moderate poverty—here basic needs are met but just barely.
• Relative poverty—here the household income level is

constructed to be below a given national income. It refers to individuals or groups lack of resources as compared with

• thers in the society. Here poverty differs across time and
• place. It is about the degree of poverty.

Slide 16

Poverty Defined

• Some scholars contend that relative poverty exists in

the absence of a minimum standard of living on socially or culturally established criteria and not the criteria of survival or subsistence as argued in the definitions of absolute poverty.

Slide 17

POVERTY IN GHANA

Topic Three

Slide 18

Poverty in Ghana

In 1991, the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) indicated the poverty level as 51.7%

• In 1999 there was a reduction to 39.5%.
• In 2005, this further dropped to 28.5%.
• Of these percentages, a large number of women have been

seen to be more prone to poverty (Fosu & Tsikata, 2007).

Slide 19

Poverty in Ghana

• The national poverty rate is defined as the

percentage of a country’s population which earns less than the country’s poverty line. Whilst the World Bank’s poverty line is 1$ or less a day.

• In Ghana it is $2 a day. Therefore in 2007, the World

Bank Statistics which gave the population of Ghana as 22.9 million estimated that 18.5% are unable to meet their daily food needs.

Slide 20

Poverty in Ghana

Causes of Poverty in Ghana Various factors have been identified as causes of poverty in Ghana (Awaworyi & Danso, 2010)

• Hindrances to productivity such as bureaucracy, corruption
• etc. For example, whilst it takes $280 to open a business in

Canada, in Ghana, one might have to bribe his way.

• Poor health and lack of education. For instance in developing

countries such as Ghana, estimates indicate that 40% of children aged 4 and younger suffer from anaemia because of insufficient iron in their diets.

• Ill-health. For example, malaria decreases GDP growth by up

to 1.3% in Ghana. Tuberculosis, cholera and other infectious diseases are still prevalent in the country.

Slide 21

Poverty in Ghana

• Rising cost of living, environmental degradation. For

instance 40% of soil in Ghana are degraded.

• Overpopulation and lack of access to birth control

methods.

• Ethnic and tribal conflicts. For instance according to

the Ghana Police, social vices such as murder, prostitution, armed robbery have serious poverty motive.

Slide 22

Poverty in Ghana

Effects of Poverty in Ghana

• Since 1990, one third of death in Ghana is due to

poverty-related causes.

• Every year nearly 1,000 children living in poverty die

before their fifth birthday in Ghana.

• There are over 1 million street children nationwide

(by Catholic Action for Street Children (CAS).

Slide 23

Poverty in Ghana

• In Ghana there have been various attempts to reduce

poverty: just a few

• Provision of subsidized credits in the 1950s.
• The establishment of the Agricultural Development

Bank in 1965 specifically to address the financial need of fisheries and agricultural sectors.

Slide 24

Poverty in Ghana

Efforts to Reduce Poverty in Ghana

• Micro-financing. Microfinance is based on the

premise that the poor have skills which remain unutilized and underutilized. But they lack funds to help them unleash it.

• Provision of social intervention programs by the

government.

• Promotion of entrepreneurial skills development and

acquisition among the youth.

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References

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