Study: Poverty dramatically affects children's brains

A new study finds that certain brain functions of some low-income 9- and 10-year-olds pale in comparison with those of wealthy children and that the difference is almost equivalent to the damage from a stroke.

"It is a similar pattern to what's seen in patients with strokes that have led to lesions in their prefrontal cortex," which controls higher-order thinking and problem solving, says lead researcher Mark Kishiyama, a cognitive psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley. "It suggests that in these kids, prefrontal function is reduced or disrupted in some way."  more

Financial Gazette (Harare)

Zimbabwe: Poverty, Hunger Force Girls Into Prostitution

Nelson Chenga

6 December 2008

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Nyamapanda — As the night grew darker at Nyamapanda business centre a jukebox could be heard at one of the night spots loudly playing one of Yvonne Chaka Chaka's 1980s hit songs Take my love it's free.

A crowd began swelling outside the nightclub, venue of a live performance by one of Zimbabwe's music icons, Nicholas Zacharia.

A message on the ravages of the HIV/Aids pandemic from the popular singer affectionately known as the "Senior Lecturer" that warm night could have done the trick in changing the immoral behavioral patterns in the border town if only the revellers were interested in such a lecture.

But unfortunately the main reason for attending the show was purely entertainment in an area starved of other forms of amusements outside the consumption of alcohol and prostitution, a trade that has taken root in the remote settlement and increasingly attracting younger members as poverty and hunger take their toll.

A complete collapse of the country's education system that has seen teachers emigrating or simply staying at home due to the way below poverty margin salaries has resulted in girls being forced into prostitution to survive.  more

Stephen Pimpare: A People's History of Poverty in America

Capitalism's unequal distribution of wealth and resources necessarily engenders economic "winners" and "losers." But the poor in the United States are often described solely in terms of moral failures: they're lazy, irresponsible and just don't want to work hard for success. Indeed, openly blaming the poor for poverty has been en vogue since Reagan's acidic "welfare queen" remarks. However, in A People's History of Poverty in America, Stephen Pimpare takes a decidedly less accusatory look at the history of poverty in our country. Told from the perspective of the poor themselves, the moving stories of hard work, bad luck, and almost insurmountable institutional inequalities brim with a quiet dignity.

– Suzanne Niemoth

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Wealth and poverty in early church and society edited by Susan R. Holman

Wealth and poverty in early church and society / edited by Susan R. Holman Publisher Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Academic ; [Brookline, Mass.] : HC Orthodox Press, c2008

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Description 320 p. : ill. ; 23 cm Series Holy Cross studies in patristic theology and history Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-299) and indexes Contents The New Testament period. Injustice or God's will? : early Christian explanations of poverty / Steven J. Friesen -- "Be not one who stretches out hands to receive but shuts them when it comes to giving" : envisioning Christian charity when both donors and recipients are poor / Denise Kimber Buell -- James 2:2-7 in early Christian thought / Gorge K. Hasselhoff -- Wealth, poverty, and the value of the person : some notes on the Hymn of the pearl and its early Christian context / Edward Moore -- Egypt in late antiquity. Widening the eye of the needle : wealth and poverty in the works of Clement of Alexandria / Annewies van den Hoek -- Care for the poor, fear of poverty, and love of money : Evagrius Ponticus on the monk's economic vulnerability / David Brakke -- Wine for widows : papyrological evidence for Christian charity in late antique Egypt / Adam Serfass -- Rich and poor in Sophronius of Jerusalem's Miracles of Saints Cyrus and John / Susan R. Holman -- John Chrysostom, the Cappadocians, and friends. This sweetest passage : Matthew 25:31-46 and assistance to the poor in the homilies of John Chrysostom / Rudolf Brandle -- Poverty and generosity toward the poor in the time of John Chrysostom / Wendy Mayer -- Poverty and wealth as theater : John Chrysostom's homilies on Lazarus and the rich man / Francine Cardman -- Wealthy and impoverished widows in the writings of St. John Chrysostom / Efthalia Makris Walsh -- The hellenic background and nature of patristic philanthropy in the early Byzantine era / Demetrios J. Constantelos -- Wealth, trade, and profit in early Byzantium. Gilding the lily : a patristic defense of liturgical splendor / A. Edward Siecienski -- Wealth, stewardship, and charitable "blessings" in early Byzantine monasticism / Daniel Caner -- Trade, profit, and salvation in the late patristic and the Byzantine period / Angeliki E. Laiou -- Patristic studies for today. St. Basil's philanthropic program and modern microlending strategies for economic self-actualization / Timothy Patitsas -- The use of patristic socioethical texts in Catholic social thought / Brian Matz

Rising poverty and high growth. economy

New concerns over rising poverty 8 Nov 2008, 0000 hrs IST,  By: Usha Tuteja

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Editorial/New_concerns_over_rising_poverty/articleshow/3687144.cms
The revised benchmark by the World Bank is the average of the national poverty lines of the worlds’ 15 poorest countries. The ADB’s benchmark is Asia-specific based on surveys from 16 Asian countries. When these benchmarks are used for estimating poverty levels in India, the situation becomes grave and uncomfortable. By using the first poverty line, the estimated number of poor in India during 2004-05 was 456 million or 41.6% of the total population. 

According to the second poverty line, the number of poor in India was 622 million, which is 54.8% of the population. Evidently, these estimates are significantly above the official estimates of 27.5% indicated by the Planning Commission. Among the states, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Orissa indicate that around 40% of the population is below the poverty line. 

A deeper probe into the poverty statistics measured by the World Bank, the ADB and the Planning Commission reflects poor achievements on inclusive growth despite attaining a growth momentum of as high as 8-10% by the country over the last few years. In the past quarter century, the poverty rate has slowly declined by somewhat less than one percentage point a year. But the number of poor have remained stubbornly large. Moreover, the decline in poverty was faster during the ’80s than during the ’90s and in recent years. Clearly, India has not experienced the spectacular declines in poverty, expected in an emerging economy with high growth.

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‘Fighting poverty ensures peace’

Business Mirror

2008 - the International Year of the Potato: Potato Can Provide Food Security

UN Says Potato Can Provide Food Security, Eradicate Poverty
By Lisa Schlein  Geneva 06 November 2008

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As the International Year of the Potato 2008 winds down, the United Nations is appealing for continued global attention on the role the potato can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. It said the potato is a staple, nutritious food that can provide poor people with an inexpensive food that can stop hunger and keep people healthy.  Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva. 

" alt="Sweet potatoes, 23 Oct. 2008 " src="http://www.voanews.com/english/images/AFP_Sweet_potato_23OCT08.jpg" border="0" height="193" hspace="2" vspace="2" width="190">

Sweet potatoes, 23 Oct. 2008

To many people, the potato is an object of fun. Couch potato comes immediately to mind. But, the United Nations thinks the spud is a stud as far as it's ability to feed and preserve the planet. It goes so far as to say that the potato can help save the lives of many of the world's poor and hungry.  

Paolo Garonna is Officer in Charge of the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe. He noted the U.N. General Assembly resolution that launched 2008 as the International Year of the Potato stressed the link between the potato and the Millennium Development Goals.  more