Globalization
has improved the lives of people throughout the world, but it
has also widened the gap between rich and poor. Half the world
lives on less than $2 a day and 30,000 children die each day because
of poverty. Even in America, 36 million people are poor. Poverty
affects families, communities and nations. When people are not
able to get the food and shelter they need, conflicts arise. Working
to end poverty will make the world safer.
At the United
Nations Millennium Summit in the year 2000, the leaders of the
world pledged to help end poverty as the first of 8 Millennium
Development Goals. The rest of these goals address many avenues
to eliminate poverty such as ensuring education for children,
improving health and empowering women. Many campaigns are working
with the UN's Millennium Campaign to pressure governments to live
up to their promises, such as Britain's Make Poverty History Campaign
and the ONE Campaign in America. 2005's global Live 8 concert,
organized by Bob Geldof and U2's Bono, helped to bring worldwide
attention to the end poverty movement, and the White Band Campaign
makes it easy for everyone to show their support.
End Poverty
Day, officially the International Day for the Eradication
of Poverty, is an opportunity to mobilize to remind governments
about their pledge to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,
and to inspire individuals to see that together we can end poverty.