What Does It Mean To Live On Less Than $5 A Day?

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What does it mean to live on less than $5 a day? Can you live without your cell phone, internet connection, public transportation, your dunkin’ or Starbucks? For two days, try to live on less than $5 a day
International organizations such as the World Bank, governments and other stakeholders, both in private and public sectors across the globe are engaging in various initiatives that are aimed at reducing poverty and enhancing the quality of life now and in future. Reports from the World Bank shows that these efforts have paid off with the achievements of the first Millennium Development Goals that were focused on cutting the global poverty rate by half from 1990 to 2015 (Leary). Although the progress made has been overwhelming, there is a large number of people living in extreme poverty across the globe, while the strategies in place to mitigate poverty might not be sufficient to meet the goals of 2030. Recent estimates by the World Bank shows that by 2013, 10.7% of the people in the world were living on less than $1.90 a day, while 1.1 billion were able to improve their quality of life by moving from extreme poverty. Notably, half of the extremely poor people in the world are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. These people live in the rural settings, are uneducated or lack a quality education, most work in the agricultural sector, and most of them are under the age of 18 (Leary). According to Fisher, many poor families in Africa face challenges that have come with the transformation from a subsistence lifestyle to a cash-based economy (9). In this context, the author alludes that the ability to generate income has become imperative because it is the primary means of acquiring other essential resources. From these insights, it is imperative to understand how these people survive and develop insights on how their lifestyles compare to those of people in developed countries. The intent of this paper is to review what it means to live on less than $5 a day, without the amenities, technologies, and lifestyle we are used to.
Changes in the economy have presented people with new challenges following a transition to a cash-based economy. In response to this issue, there are various initiatives that are meant to microfinance the poor people in a bid to improve their quality of life. Underlying these initiatives is the struggle faced by poor people not only from Sub-Saharan Africa but also in other developing countries. The Stanford Graduate School of Business supports the sentiments expressed by Leary that about half of the population in the world lives in poverty, with those living on $1 a day were in extreme poverty and those living on $2 were in moderate poverty (3). From this perspective, having at least $5 a day offers an individual an opportunity for a better life compared to almost half of the people in the world. Insights from the Stanford Graduate School of Business show that people living in poverty face numerous challenges in meeting the basic human needs that include food, health, shelter and education (3). In this light, living on less than $5 a day presents a situation where people face issues of malnutrition, lack of quality health care, lack of proper housing, and illiteracy. According to ...