Antipoverty Organizations

AT THE BEGINNING of the 21st century there is an ever-increasing gap between the rich and poor in both developing and developed countries. Although this disparity began in the 19th century, it has expanded more rapidly since the end of World War II.

In fact, over the last 60 years poverty has become such a problem that many organizations, agencies, and philanthropists have devoted significant time, energy, and funding to combat it. An indication of just how severe the problem is can be seen by the fact that the world's poor—the some 2.5 billion people who subsist on less than $2 per day—are now more hungry, less sheltered, and more insecure in their living situations than at any time in modern history. The irony is that while the poor are experiencing extreme hardships, corporations, [Page 41]executives, and the wealthy are increasing their net worth at unprecedented levels. For example, the number of millionaires and the wealth they have accumulated have continued to grow by 8 percent from 2003 to 2004 alone, while the number of people, most of whom live in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on less than $1 per day, is pervasive, persistent, and increasing according to a 2002 United Nations report.

Due in part to this imbalance, antipoverty organizations have sprung up to advocate for and provide assistance to people who cannot meet their own needs. While the United Nations and developed countries have many departments charged with alleviating poverty, many are inefficient and underfunded. Agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) typically furnish emergency aid, but do little to sustain development projects that would cut poverty in the long term. In an effort to meet this need, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as Focus on the Global South, Global Exchange, Third World Network, and the 50 Years Is Enough Network have been working diligently to combat world poverty from the grassroots level. The following are some of the foremost antipoverty organizations that work to redress the problems of world poverty on an international level.