Causes of Poverty
There are many different reasons why people in developing countries are poor. Most of these combine to increase poverty in a vicious circle. For example, lack of sanitation leads to the spread of disease which makes people too ill to work, increasing unemployment etc.
There are other factors which many see as major contributors. For example, Zambia, a country decimated by AIDS, pays off millions every year in foreign debt.In Zambia, between 1990 and 1993, debt repayments cost 34 times as much as the country was able to spend on primary school education – education spending fell by more than 80%.
Africa’s interest repayments cost four times as much as is spent on health care.
Unfair trade laws are also a big problem. Oxfam stated that these unfair rules lead to a loss of £500 billion every year for developing countries.
