Introduction
Nearly half of the world’s population (more than 3 billion people) live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty (less than $1.25 a day). 1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. 805 million people worldwide do not have enough food to eat (https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-global-poverty).
Global poverty is not solely a humanitarian concern, in a real way over the long term it is a challenge putting pressure on our societies, Poverty is the root cause of all problems, it poses severe and distinct threat to food security, climate change, human insecurity, Democracy, human right amongst others.
Poverty erodes countries capacity to address global challenges, and their potentials to fully contribute to the successful implementation of UN SDGs goals.
Link between Poverty Democracy, Human rights and Climate Change
Strong evidence suggests that there is a linkage between democracy, food security, climate change, human insecurity, human rights on one hand, and poverty, on the other. Because of lack of opportunities to fully tackle these concerns in some countries, many of their citizens gradually shift into a state of hopelessness and lack of motivation to actively participate in decision-making. They do not fully exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities as citizens in choosing the right leadership or engaging in discussions on public policy issues such as health, unemployment and the economy.
Seeking Solutions through Dialogue
The Organization for Poverty Alleviation and Development (OPAD) and its partners want to jointly organize a forum to gather together leaders, social workers, government and non-governmental institutions and civil society actors from around the world to discuss challenges relating to poverty food security, climate change, human insecurity, democracy and human rights, find creative driven solutions to these challenges, and transfer these solutions to their home countries. OPAD is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization working towards the eradication of poverty and promotion of sustainable development.
The focus of the event will, therefore, be on finding stimulating and innovative techniques for maximizing youths’ participation in the democratic space within the context of addressing poverty as a key contributing factor to successful outcomes. The event will also provide space for the youths to gain and exercise their competences in leadership, communication and organizational skills.
Goal, Aims and Expected Outputs
The overall goal of this event will be to address poverty as a threat to food security, climate change, human insecurity, democracy and human right, thus contributing towards accelerating global youth empowerment.
The aim of the event is to impart new knowledge, skills and techniques to the participants in order to enable them address identified problems. The event will be delivered using a panel discussion. Together with its key partners that have expertise and experience in democracy, food security, climate change and human rights, OPAD will examine opportunities and strategies for national and community development especially among low and medium income counties (LMIC). The forum will come up with implementable programs to enhance food security, examine how local authorities can adapt and respond/mitigate to climate change, and counter human insecurity, and democracy and human rights.