Canada is a rich industrialised country, usually ranked well within the top 10 countries in the HDI (Human Development Index) yet, like all countries, poverty is still a problem that faces a substantial number of Canadians. A survey in 2005 estimates that 10.8% of the population live below the LICO (Low Income Cut-Off) which is currently set at $20,000.
Zambia, on the other hand, is a poor, third world country where disease, poverty and illiteracy are prevalent. Once rich and prosperous, and seen as the economic hope of Sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia’s economy fell to pieces because of the oil crisis in the 1970s which consequently led to a dramatic fall in copper prices: Zambia’s primary export. Loans pushed by America were taken out by an incompetent government, thus leaving Zambia in a debt crisis where their repayments were higher than their total exports. It is the Zambian people who have been made to suffer. 63.8% of the population are living on less than $1 a day and 83% are living under $2 a day.
There are certain minority groups in both of these countries that suffer the most from poverty. Zambia is one of the most urbanised countries in Sub-Saharan Africa but those that do live in rural areas, largely the indigenous tribes of the Bantu people, are the ones who experience the greatest hardships with a lack of education, access to clean water and next to no health care. However, there is also a real problem in Westernised cities, such as Lusaka and Ndola, of unemployment and underemployment with many people being paid wages that are barely enough to live on. Refugees are also another big problem in Zambia, flooding in from war-stricken Rwanda, Angola and The Democratic Republic of Congo. There are an estimated 113,000 refugees with 60,000 living in camps. The real problem lies in the fact that a refugee must pay a permit costing $500 a year in order to officially work in Zambia – a figure completely unaffordable for most of these refugees.
Similarly, Canada’s indigenous people, commonly known as First Nations, are sufferers of poverty. The percentage of those suffering from poverty is double the national average, however, the First Nations are not counted in the government statistics. Other particular groups suffering from poverty include new immigrants, children, the elderly and the mentally ill. Today in Canada, it is estimated that 40% of the homeless suffer from mental illnesses, this stems back to the deinstitutionalisation of the mentally ill in the 1970s.
Child poverty is possibly the most serious social problem facing both Zambia and Canada. However, the relative degree and urgency of the problem is very different. In Zambia, children have been badly affected by the AIDS epidemic; in 2007 it was estimated that there were 600,000 AIDS orphans, many of these are then abandoned due to stigma or the lack of resources to support them. In Zambia, AIDS does not only affect the poor, deprived communities but it also affects the wealthier and more educated parts of society. The difference is that they have the money to pay for health care to help prolong life, whereas the poor communities do not. The Zambian president, Mwanawasa, has recognised this and has promised to provide free treatment to 100,000 people by the end of the year.
The disparity in wealth for children is a serious problem in Canada. Statistics show that those children who come from low-income families, compared to those in middle income families, are 1.7 times more likely to have serious health problems. Not just this statistic but others as well show that children growing up in low-income families: have less healthy lives, have less access to skill-building activities, have more destructive habits and behaviours, live more stressful lives and are subject to more humiliation. This leads to a deprivation trap, in which many Canadians fall and are unable to lift themselves out of poverty.
There are a large number of NGOs working in both Zambia and Canada to alleviate poverty. In Zambia, there are currently about 600 NGOs working – 150 of these work specifically in helping with AIDS and 450 of them work in rural areas. However, the Zambian government has often accused the NGOs of not actually helping people and even of stealing their money. In 2007, the government passed a new NGO bill that meant that NGOs will have to be registered and approved; any that they dislike will not be able to offer aid in Zambia. This bill is extremely unpopular with many people, with protests taking place.
In Canada, a number of organisations operate homeless shelters, food banks and other sorts of aid to low-income Canadians. The most prominent charities include Canadian Red Cross, the Salvation Army and United Way of Canada. Campaign 2000 is possibly the biggest and most well known group whose aim is to alleviate child poverty in Canada. It is an alliance of NGOs who put pressure on the government by assessing what is being done to alleviate poverty.
In conclusion, whilst I feel that there is a surprisingly large amount of poverty in Canada and a huge disparity in wealth, I don’t think that the problems being faced by even the poorest communities can come close to what the vast majority – 83% of Zambians are facing. Relative poverty in Canada is to be expected as there is, and always will be, disparities in wealth but I feel that absolute poverty in today’s world is inexcusable. The facts speak for themselves. Canada has a GDP per capita of $39, 300, 6.8% of this is spent on healthcare and 5.2% is spent on education. Zambia has a GDP of $1500 per capita, 3% of this is spent on healthcare and 1.9% is spent on education. The amount percentage of HIV sufferers in Canada is less than 0.3%; in Zambia it’s 16.5%. Finally, if you live in Canada you are expected to live to 79; in Zambia just 49.
I have attempted to compare the two countries’ poverty but, in truth, it is similar to comparing different worlds. Canada is a country in which, by Zambia’s standards, nobody would be considered to be in poverty; Zambia is a country where, by Canada’s standards, 98% of the country would be living in poverty.
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