Jordan Times
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Best way to tackle poverty is
educating the poor — Khader
By Rami Abdelrahman
AMMAN — The best way to tackle poverty is by educating the needy on the
means that could help them independently reduce their poverty and improve their
living conditions, Minister of State and Government Spokesperson Asma Khader
said yesterday.
Khader's remarks came at the opening of a one-day workshop on poverty yesterday,
on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
The event is organised by the National Network for Poverty Alleviation with the
support of the Poverty Strategy Initiative of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with the Families Development Association.
“We need more persistence in implementing our strategies to ensure better living
condition for all Jordanians, and the poor should acquire the necessary skills
to help in the process,” Khader told government and NGO officials, as well as
university students, who gathered to participate in the event.
Khader added that when resources are limited, the best way to deal with the
situation is by controlling and building on available resources, which is a more
effective poverty alleviation tool.
“Our poverty rate dropped from 14 per cent in 2002 to 12.5 per cent today
despite limited resources,” Khader said, noting that about JD200,000 have been
allocated for developmental projects in the country's 20 poorest areas, while
the National Aid Fund distributes JD250,000 annually among the poor.
She explained that the government intends to enhance indirect methods of poverty
alleviation as well as the direct ones.
“Political development is key to economic development and poverty alleviation.
When people are able to make the right decision in electing their
representatives or those who run different programmes, the efficiency of those
implementing such programmes would increase,” Khader said.
The UNDP stressed during the workshop that ensuring environmental
sustainability, improving maternal health, promoting gender equality and
empowering women could eradicate poverty.
The focus should be on youth, UNDP Resident Representative, ad interim, Mona
Haidar said.
“Jordan has a youthful demographic nature: Jordanians aged 15 to 29 represent
more than 31 per cent of the whole population (5.55 million), whereas Jordanians
under 15 represent 28 per cent,” she said, noting that youth are, and should
remain, the focus of education on poverty alleviation.
During a Planning Ministry presentation, researcher Ibrahim Hajjoj said it has
been proven that poverty and unemployment “are not directly connected, as not
every poor person is unemployed, and not every unemployed person is poor, since
there are a lot of other factors that control each.”
“Our poverty decreased, yet Jordan's unemployment rose from 13.4 per cent in
1997 to 15.3 per cent in 2002, this means that the stereotype saying both are
connected directly is wrong,” Hajjoj said, noting that education and maternity
are directly connected to poverty.
He added that the poverty line, which determines who is poor and who is not, had
risen from JD366 per year in 1997 to JD392 per year in 2002, due to a 3.5
increase in consumption and a 0.8 per cent increase in income per capita.
However, he added, the poverty line differs from one area to another due to the
nature of the area and the activities of its residents.
“Poverty reduction in urban areas is improving faster than in rural areas,
except in the case of Zarqa, which was announced as the only city where poverty
is rising. The reason behind that is because the military bases, which made
Zarqa's businesses prosper, were removed and small businesses in the city are
dying.”
Hajjoj concluded by saying that poverty in the Kingdom was not of a “feminine”
nature, as the rates of poor families managed by a female and those run by males
were almost equal.
The theme of this year's International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is
“Youth — A New Voice for the Millennium Developmental Goals.”
The workshop covered three of the eight Millennium Developmental Goals:
Sustainable environment, maternal health, and gender equality and women
empowerment in connection with the eradication of poverty.