“One of the most inspirational thinkers and undoubtedly one of the most prominent historical figures, Mahatma Gandhi, equated poverty with the most severe form of violence. There is no denying that poverty undermines human opportunities to develop their full potential. Personally, I think it’s a form of human rights abuse. While there is an ongoing theoretical debate as to whether economic, social and cultural rights fit into the prism of human rights, there is no questioning that right to health, housing, education, and an adequate standard of living are of paramount importance to human life. Unfortunately, we all know too well that while everyone is entitled to these rights, as proclaimed by numerous international human rights treaties and conventions, not everyone realizes them. In this article, we are focusing on countries with the highest poverty rates in 2017, where the conditions for the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights are pretty much nonexistent.”
We do not choose where to be born and to what family. It is just a matter of the hands of cards life gives us. By this I do not intend to say that what turn our lives take does not depend on us, but on pure luck. After all, we have free will to do as we like, however, the context matters. To assert that there are equal opportunities for success in the poorest and in the richest country would be an utter nonsense. Those who live in countries with the highest poverty rates in the world certainly do not have it easy. For most of the population in these countries, life means a struggle for survival. The things many of us take for granted are the things these people daydream about. Insider Monkey has recently published an article on 31 countries with the highest poverty rates in the world in 2017 where the author ranks countries based on the values of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index and the World Development Indicators. While there are no reasons to be optimistic, we can hope that things will gradually improve and that poverty will be tackled in these countries.
