In countries experiencing generational poverty, children from low-income families often have fewer opportunities than those from more advantaged backgrounds. The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) reports that poor parents have limited resources to invest in their children. For this reason, the affected children face challenges like poor mental stimulation and education. Additionally, living in poverty can negatively affect parenting.
The NCCP studied this lasting impact on children by examining the social and economic status of several families. The study revealed that individuals who grow up in poverty tend to remain poor in early adulthood. Breaking this cycle is nearly impossible without proper resources and education, and families in low-income countries continue to suffer the impacts of this issue. The following are three such countries suffering from generational poverty.
3 Countries Suffering From Generational Poverty
- India: According to a 2020 World Economic Forum (WEF) report on global social mobility, Indians born into low-income families suffer from generational poverty. According to the report, it would take seven generations for an Indian raised in poverty to reach India’s mean income. The report defines social mobility as a person’s “movement” upwards or downwards relative to their parents. It found that countries with high social mobility scores have lower income inequality, while countries suffering from generational poverty have a higher variability in income. In response to the issue of generational poverty, India established the Integrated Rural Development Program in 1978. The program’s goal is to provide opportunities for people living in poverty to learn and practice skills to improve their living conditions while increasing small-scale agricultural production. The government allocates a 25% subsidy to small farmers and 33.5% to rural craftsmen, farmers, and agricultural laborers. The remaining 50% goes toward castes and people with disabilities.
- South Africa: South Africa is another country suffering from generational poverty. According to the World Inequity Lab’s research, the social structure catering to white people for nearly three centuries has made South Africa “the world’s most unequal society.” Black South Africans, who faced restricted access to resources and opportunities during the apartheid era, suffered negative impacts that lasted through generations. Today, the richest 10% of South Africans own over 85% of household wealth, leaving only 15% for the remaining 90%. The social system in South Africa perpetuates the cycle of generational poverty. The World Bank suggests three policy measures to break this cycle. These measures include expanding and improving the quality of education, increasing access to production and land in rural areas and investing in social protection systems that safeguard the impoverished from climate risks and economic vulnerability.
- Honduras: Generational poverty is permanent and occurs when at least two generations are born into poverty. In a video produced by the nonprofit organization Children Internation, a young girl from Honduras expresses sadness about her grandparents, who are her adoptive parents, growing up in the same poor living conditions that she currently lives in. The girl is among the 75% of Hondurans living in rural areas below the poverty line, where access to food and shelter is often scarce. Sponsorships through organizations such as Children International provide resources to help break the cycle of generational poverty for children. The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) provides financial services for families who live in poverty in Honduras, with 55.5% of borrowers being women. It provides individual loans, village banking loans, rural and agriculture loans and insurance to more than 60,000 clients.
Looking Ahead
Although many citizens in the aforementioned countries are still dealing with the challenges posed by generational poverty, there are ongoing initiatives that provide the required support to help them break the chain and create better opportunities for their children.
– Olivia Maillet
Photo: Flickr