The recent world problems that have been rocking the world include poverty, hunger, environmental degradation, political instability, human trafficking, ethnic tension, and religious and cultural conflicts. Although the root cause for these world problems is complex, to understand them we must briefly go over their various dimensions. On one hand, poverty is defined as lack of enough food, shelter, medical care or financial resources due to a history of extreme poverty. On the other hand, human rights violations are defined as abuses against human rights. In both cases, the root causes for these problems are racism, sexism, environmental degradation, or religious intolerance.
Climate change is one of the most rapidly growing global problems today. Extreme weather events like droughts, heat waves, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, snow storms and super cyclones are becoming more common place all over the world. Although these global problems have been around for centuries, the rapid increase in greenhouse gases and lack of concern for future damage to the environment by human activity, has pushed it into the limelight as the number one environmental issue of our time. While there is still hope for the world’s remaining natural habitats, the impact of human behavior on the environment will continue unabated.
Another problem with global issues is climate change. While it is relatively slow in its pace, it presents a unique set of challenges. The changing climate will change the world’s food production, environmental habitats, natural disasters and human populations. While solving the problem of climate change will take a collective effort from every nation that faces the problem, India and other developing countries that lack the resources to effectively deal with the problem are stepping up to the plate.
It is in India’s interest, therefore, to address some of the global problems that it faces. One of the ways to do this is to become a leader in scientific and technology research. India has a lot of resources at its disposal and it can leverage its size to come up with innovative solutions to climate change. In addition to coming up with innovative solutions, it will be able to make significant contributions to the global effort to fight climate change.
The effort, then, must be taken by developing countries to become more socially aware and economically stable. A successful effort, according to the World Health Organization, will involve “reversal of trends toward neglect and excessive poverty.” It will involve both the private and public sectors in promoting development, eradication of poverty, and preventing the formation of yet more global problems like climate change and global poverty. A successful effort, then, will have a positive impact on the health and prosperity of all people living in India. Whether or not such efforts to succeed, however, depends largely on the leadership of Indian citizens.
A recent study by the Center for Strategic Intelligence at the University of Glasgow group suggests that poverty is a major barrier to the advancement of any country in the world. According to the same study, India, given the opportunity, could excel in all four areas that are vital to economic development, including agricultural productivity, industrial productivity, and income levels. The study further states, “A successful attempt to eliminate poverty through development should form an important plank of India’s foreign policy.” Achieving such development will be important in stemming climate change and other forms of pollution.
Global poverty can be curbed, and India, given the right opportunity, can excel at each of these four areas. However, the process will be difficult and requires a lot of cooperation from various segments of society. Achieving development, according to the Glasgow study, “will require political liberalization, greater freedom, and greater commitment to public goods.” For instance, reducing poverty in India will require promoting economic growth, more access to markets, and more investment in infrastructure. More developed nations, meanwhile, will have to look to their governments for help, because the poor condition of their economies leaves them vulnerable to environmental degradation and other forms of global poverty.
Although global poverty can seem like one overwhelming problem, it actually only represents a tiny percentage of the world’s overall problems. India, for example, despite its size and economy, contributes very little to global poverty. These statistics and other information about world problems can be used to combat global poverty by helping developing nations improve their economic conditions, provide higher education and technology, and reduce poverty caused by natural disasters and other man-made causes.