Do wealthy nations have a moral obligation to reduce global poverty, or should they

prioritize their own citizens?

Money in a nation holds great value in shaping the economy along with supporting livelihood.

Countries that have an efficient financial situation can work wonders in order to cause a decline

in the poverty that is widespread globally. The topic often embarks several debates; however, I

think that as long as the national circumstances are upto the mark, there isn’t any issue to help

those in need and it will also serve as a great medium in enhancing international relations.

An approximate of around 1 billion individuals of developing nations lacked essential medical

facilities, required nutrition along with having inadequate education and housing facilities. As

high as 10 million babies upto the age bracket of five lose their lives annually even when they

suffer from curable diseases; whereas, around hundred million children belonging to third world

nations were malnourished and didn’t grow up in suitable circumstances. The drastic difference

than these was witnessed in those children who had the facilities of letting go of the goods which

were still intact as per their wish. A moral obligation by the well-to-do nations can be of great

help to those who face difficulties in bare existence. IDA, which refers to the International

Development Association, has taken up a critical challenge to make financial contributions

globally which will be useful in order to eradicate poverty to a great extent. A 0.7 percent of the

GNP is provided annually by wealthy nations to assist poor nations.

Poverty as a concept has been widely spreading throughout poor nations and it leads to a lack of

accessibility to wealth which forms an undying loop with unemployment and illiteracy. Wealthy

countries can be helpful to the nations facing poverty through several mediums, including:

•Help in aid through vaccinations or immunisations.

•Adopting ‘joined-up’ policies for world development.

The social setup of a nation houses two dimensions, namely the rich and poor to often co-exist;

however, this affects the global system. The structure of the international system along with the

way it’s operated, both work to eradicate the global poverty by the developed nations and

multilateral institutions. Prompting of the economic growth has been a way for nations to form

alliances to cause a decline in poverty since the Second World War even though there has been a

debatable change. As per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,

countries expended more than $135 billion on aid in the year 2014. The aid does not necessarily

have to be financial and can be done in the form of essential goods. For instance, nations can

send amenities like food, hygiene supplies and so on to make sure that the countries facing

difficulties have all their necessities provided for. As soon as the money- related issues in a

nation are met , these nations can then further work for the betterment of others without

sacrificing that of their own country. A moral duty and a sense of acknowledgment along with a

strategic responsibility is required to deal with the financial and backward status of

underdeveloped or developing nations, which will then serve as a virtue for those in need.

Addressing this issue would require to look beyond charity and foreign aid, taking a look at the

much wider pathways that can result into the better-off people to help the poorer individuals

through: finance, trade, migration and so on. MNC’s (multinational cooperations) need to be set

up in different nations that will boost the economy and provide employment opportunities along

with working as a money- making medium for the nations that put a foot forward to set these

services up.
The primary reason for helping the ones suffering through poverty is the moral obligation and

basic humanity means so. Multilateral cooperation is needed in order to deal with challenges

like: new diseases, organised crimes, international migration, extreme weather conditions and

terrorism, which can ensure a sustainable, healthy and politically stable living conditions for the

global residents as these issues can not be solved themselves. Both the state and businesses need

to put in work for the structural transformation of the economic situation. Trade policies should

be reformed so that the people and nations dealing with poverty can gain benefits at a greater

share. Illicit and illegal extraction of income can be put an end to by reforming the global

financial system. Migration can be counted as a means of dealing with poverty and meeting the

inclusive growth standards. Adaptation should be supported in order to deal with the climate

changes. Moreover, colonialism has benefitted the wealthy nations into being as they are today,

and they should compensate the world’s poor population for using the resources. A loss of $9

trillion would be inevitable, if the financially exceeding nations do not help the developing

nations.

World hunger, illiteracy and crimes are all interlinked since the world’s population does not have

an equitable distribution of income along with a state of unemployment which is a rising

problem faced in most of the developing and underdeveloped nations and in order to counter this

issue, wealthy nations need to provide opportunities along with provision of amenities for those

who are suffering from this issue.

A well thought conclusion states that helping the nations facing global poverty is a morally right

thing to do; however, one must not forget to keep their national duties as a bigger priority.

Dealing with the situation of poverty can only be done once the wealthy countries work on

eradicating the issue in their own areas and then, work on the global betterment. Even though, it
is not an obligation for nations to provide developmental assistance but it is a nice and humane

thing to do so and work on the principle of humanity and it can serve as a broad international

commitment. So Wealthy nations have a moral obligation to reduce global poverty, as global

interconnectedness demands shared responsibility. Prioritizing domestic welfare should not come

at the expense of addressing global inequalities.

This coming IDA replenishment is an opportunity for MENA countries to make their

contribution and presence felt. Source: World Bank

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https://search.app/CKZfmLd4yBLe2kGR7

One of the major conundrums of our world is that poverty still exists amidst extreme wealth.

Economic processes have lifted many out of poverty but have failed

Source: E-International Relations

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