The following global poverty quotes cover foreign aid, U.S. involvement and the strategic reasons to combat global poverty and world hunger.

Global Poverty Quotes

“Don’t let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.”
– Bill Gates

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”
– Chinese Proverb

“As the wealthiest nation on Earth, I believe the United States has a moral obligation to lead the fight against hunger and malnutrition, and to partner with others.”
– President Barack Obama

“Foreign Assistance is not an end in itself. The purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it is no longer needed.”
– President Barack Obama

“One of the best ways countries can combat poverty is to use development assistance to promote a growing private sector, in which the poor can fully participate.”
– John Danilovich, former CEO Millennium Challenge Corporation

“Between now and 2015, we must make sure that promises made become promises kept. The consequences of doing otherwise are profound: death, illness and despair, needless suffering, lost opportunities for millions upon millions of people.”
– UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

“The MDGs have been a fundamental framework for global development. A clear agenda, with measurable goals and targets, and a common vision have been crucial for this success. There is now an expectation around the world that sooner, rather than later, all these goals can and must be achieved.”
– UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Sha Zukang

“Investment in AIDS will be repaid a thousand-fold in lives saved and communities held together.”
– Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS

“So often the world sits idly by, watching ethnic conflicts flare up, as if these were mere entertainment rather than human beings whose lives are being destroyed. Shouldn’t the existence of even one single refugee be a cause for alarm throughout the world?”
– Urkhan Alakbarov

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed”
– Dwight Eisenhower

“Once poverty is gone, we’ll need to build museums to display its horrors to future generations. They’ll wonder why poverty continued so long in human society – how a few people could live in luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and despair.”
– Muhammad Yunus

“We are living in a phenomenal age. If we can spend the early decades of the 21st century finding approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits and recognition for business, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce poverty in the world.”
– Bill Gates

“We live in a completely interdependent world, which simply means we can not escape each other. How we respond to AIDS depends, in part, on whether we understand this interdependence. It is not someone else’s problem. This is everybody’s problem.”
– Bill Clinton

“Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that high concept there can be no end save victory.”
– Franklin D. Roosevelt

“There is a common tendency to ignore the poor or to develop some rationalisation for the good fortune of the fortunate.”
– John Kenneth Galbraith

Inspirational Quotes

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
– Franklin D. Roosevelt

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
– Edmund Burke

“We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.”
– President Jimmy Carter

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men—true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
– Anon

“Where you live should not determine whether you live, or whether you die.”
– Bono

“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were.”
– JFK

“One person can make a difference and every person should try.”
– JFK

“To whom much is given, much is required.”
– JFK

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
– Gandhi

“There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s needs but not for everyone’s greed”
– Gandhi

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”
– Gandhi

“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
– Nelson Mandela

“Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.”
– Nelson Mandela

“If you show people the problems and you show people the solutions they will be moved to act.”
– Bill Gates

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
– President Barack Obama

“Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.”
– President Barack Obama

Poverty Impact on National Security:

“Hunger, disease and poverty can lead to global instability and leave a vacuum for extremism to fill. So instead of just managing poverty, we must offer nations and people a pathway out of poverty. And as president I’ve made development a pillar of our foreign policy, alongside diplomacy and defense.”
– President Barack Obama

“Development is a fundamental part of our national security. It is extreme poverty- the realities of access to water and food- which create the long-term drivers of our insecurity. Most wars are fought over scarce resources and that is going to accelerate in the future.”
– Rajiv Shah, head of USAID

“In many respects, USAID’s efforts can do as much- over the long term- to prevent conflict as the deterrent effect of a carrier strike group or a marine expeditionary force.”
– Commander of US Forces in Afghanistan Lieutenant General John Allen

“It’s a moral imperative, it’s an economic imperative, and it is a security imperative.  For we’ve seen how spikes in food prices can plunge millions into poverty, which, in turn, can spark riots that cost lives, and can lead to instability.  And this danger will only grow if a surging global population isn’t matched by surging food production.  So reducing malnutrition and hunger around the world advances international peace and security — and that includes the national security of the United States.”
-President Barack Obama

“I believe that the world will be a safer place if there is enough food to go around, that it will be a more stable place if children grow up with opportunities instead of frustrations. Furthermore, I can only assume that if the United States plays a role in helping to create prosperous societies, we will have friends to call on in times of need.”
– Bill Gates

“At a time of change and challenge at home and abroad, these investments will enhance the security of Americans, assure the future American leadership, and help build the foundations of peace, stability, and prosperity in the years ahead.”
– Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State

“Development is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers.”
– Robert Gates, Former Secretary of Defense

“The worst nightmare for al Qaeda is to come into a community that feels supported and has hope.”
– Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC)

“The events of September 11, 2001, taught us that weak states, like Afghanistan, can pose as great a danger to our national interests as strong states. Poverty does not make poor people into terrorists and murderers. Yet poverty, weak institutions, and corruption can make weak states vulnerable to terrorist networks and drug cartels within their borders.”
– National Security Strategy of the Bush Administration

“We are not saying that poverty causes terrorism, or disenfranchisement causes terrorism, but we can’t mistake there are certain phenomena that contribute to it. Terrorism needs to be fought against and certainly attacked, but some of the underlying grievances that might in fact lead individuals astray to terrorism cannot be ignored.”
– John O. Brennan, Senior Counterterrorism Advisor to the White House

“Poverty, disease, debt, lack of quality education, rising population, and conflict put massive pressure on developing countries.  The combination of these pressures can breed hopelessness, which at its worst can be fertile ground for terrorism, extremism and instability.  In helping poor countries stave off these pressures, we can improve global security and promote economic growth.  Providing hope and opportunity to the poor creates stability and prosperity not just for them, but for the world”
– Initiative for Global Development Report 2004

“Our diplomacy and development capabilities must help prevent conflict, spur economic growth, strengthen weak and failing states, lift people out of poverty, combat climate change and epidemic disease, and strengthen institutions of democratic governance.”
– U.S. National Security Strategy

“Our Armed Forces will always be the cornerstone of our security, but they must be complemented. Our security also depends on diplomats who can act in every corner of the world, from grand capitals to dangerous outposts; development experts who can strengthen governance and support human dignity.”
– U.S. National Security Strategy

“Proactively investing in stronger societies and human welfare is far more effective and efficient than responding after state collapse.”
– U.S. National Security Strategy

“We will also help states avoid becoming terrorist safe havens by helping them build their capacity for responsible governance and security through development.”
– U.S. National Security Strategy

“The United States has an interest in working with our allies to help the world’s poorest countries grow into productive and prosperous economies governed by capable, democratic, and accountable state institutions. We will ensure a greater and more deliberate focus on a global development agenda across the United States Government, from policy analysis through policy implementation.”
– U.S. National Security Strategy

“Basic human rights cannot thrive in places where human beings do not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine they need to survive.”
– U.S. National Security Strategy

“The United States has a moral and strategic interest in promoting global health. When a child dies of a preventable disease, it offends our conscience; when a disease goes unchecked, it can endanger our own health; when children are sick, development is stalled.”
– U.S. National Security Strategy

“Global poverty is one of the most pressing moral challenges we face today. Yet, it’s more than just a moral problem that billions of people around the world are struggling to survive. It is also in our national security interests that we reduce global poverty. Populations that struggle in extreme poverty are more likely to become mired in destabilizing conflicts, or worse, become havens or recruiting grounds for terrorist organizations. This is an issue that we cannot afford to neglect.”
– Congressman Adam Smith

Global Poverty Impacts U.S. Jobs

“Foreign aid must be viewed as an investment, not an expense.”
– Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX), State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairwoman

“A healthier, less impoverished planet is good for all of us. From an economic standpoint, it allows people to contribute more to the marketplace and lead productive lives. U.S. foreign assistance opens new markets to U.S. goods and services and creates new trading partners and allies.”
– Gov. Mike Huckabee

“When foreign aid is carefully guided and targeted at a specific issue, it can and must be effective. Bill Gates has shown us that investments overseas can produce a strong return.”
– Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX)

“Our aid is work for the American people.”
– Rajiv Shah, head of USAID

“By doing good, we do well.”
– Rajiv Shah, head of USAID

“In this era of global and increasingly transparent supply chains, development is no longer a side concern or philanthropic exercise for most major companies. It is a matter of fundamental business success”
– Initiative for Global Development, “The Business Case for Foreign Aid Reform”

“It’s in our country’s best interest to get economic development in every corner of the world.”
– Jeff Immelt, CEO, GE

“Looking at these issues as a businessman, I believe that investing in the world’s poorest people is the smartest way that our government spends money.”
– Bill Gates

“We have no choice but to stay engaged in the world. 95 percent of the people we want to sell something to live somewhere else, and America’s access to and leadership in foreign markets is critical.”
– Tom Donohue, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

“From an economic perspective, what happens in one country has ripple effects throughout the world.”
– Chris Policinski, CEO Land O’Lakes

Impact on Overpopulation

“The key thing you can do to reduce population growth is actually improve health.”
– Bill Gates

“The hungry world cannot be fed until and unless the growth of its resources and the growth of its population come into balance. Each man and woman – and each nation – must make decisions of conscience and policy in the face of this great problem.”
– Lyndon B. Johnson

“Overpopulation in various countries has become a serious threat to the health of people and a grave obstacle to any attempt to organize peace on this planet.”
– Albert Enistein

“Short of nuclear war itself, population growth is the gravest issue the world faces. If we do not act, the problem will be solved by famine, riots, insurrection and war.”
– Robert McNamara, Former World Bank President