The Role of the Youth in Alleviating Poverty

Mr. JANVIE SOQUEÑA - AMIDOFounder and Executive Director

Youth First Initiative Philippines – A Social Enterprise

Email: janvieamido@gmail.com Twitter: @Itsjanvie

February 6, 2015

West Visayas State University -Main

“Poverty reduction is not only about meeting basic needs, it’s also about participation, influence and power.”

Hanna Halin, President of LSU 2007-2009

Let us talk about Young People

and its Perspectives

Snapshot of the Filipino YouthSources: National Youth Commission and National Statistics Office

Total Philippine Population as of March 2010 is 92,337,852 and 30% of that is composed of youth, which 27, 701, 355. In 2014, we already have 100 million and the population of the youth increased to 32 million.

15-17 years old (Young Youth)

18-24 years old (Young Adult)

25-30 years old (Core Youth)

Arguments for a Youth Perspective Poverty Reduction

• Poverty Reduction requires knowledge of youth-specific terms and conditions

• Young people are experts regarding our own daily life and in ways of reaching young people

• Youth organisations contribute to the strengthening of democracy and the respect for human rights

• Without a Youth Perspective development policies fail to identify youth organisations as actors of change

• The Millennium Development Goals specifically address young people

• Investing in young people has more potential than ever, since young people today are the most educated generation ever.

The number of people worldwide aged 12-24 years has reached 1.3 billion, the largest in history. It is also the healthiest and best educated – a strong base to build on in a world that demands more than basic skills.

Paul Walfowitz, President, World Bank Group

Young people are seldom recognised as a resource in decision- making processes. Instead, young people are systematically excluded from important arenas of decision-making and development processes. As a result, their perspectives are often absent in policy-making. At the same time, many youth organisations remain drastically under-resourced and ill-equipped to participate in development process and efforts.

Development objectives cannot be met if young people are not involved and taken into account. A Youth Perspective in poverty reduction is especially relevant given that 2/3 of the population in low-income countries are under 25 years old. In addition, most of these young people have significantly limited opportunities to exercise their Human Rights such as freedom of association. Upholding a Youth Perspective is therefore an important means of protecting young people’s rights.

A Youth Perspective in poverty reduction contributes to greater efficiency by increasing probability of making efforts that suit different groups of young people.

More than 500,000,000 young people live in poverty.

The UN Millennium Development Goals have specific outcome indicators targeted for

youth (15-24).

The Development Goal Report 2009

Youth Perspectives on MDGsMDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty

According to the UN’s World Youth Reports 724 million young people liveon less than USD 2 a day. If you were given more consideration in povertyreduction strategies, their ability to help themselves escape from povertywould increase.

MDG 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education115 million children are not in school and 100 million children ho start schoolwill be forced to leave before they learn to read and write. It is important foryoung people to complete their education in order to escape poverty, andyouth organisations can support this goal by providing non-formal education.

MDG 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower WomenStrict gender norms can be especially harmful for girls and young women who may find their freedom of movement, educational, personal and economical development, and security severely limited. Young people can break traditions and social constructions related to gender inequality and bring about change.

MDG 4: Reduce Child MortalityEvery year 11 million children in the developing world die before the age of five, and since infants born to teenage mothers are 80% more likely to die, young mothers need to be specifically targeted t help reduce child mortality. A Youth Perspective can this strategically identify young mothers’ special needs.

MDG 5: Improve Maternal HealthMillions of young women experience complications when giving birth and some of these births end either in long-term morbidity or maternal mortality. A youth perspective clearly links data at a national level on young people’s level of education, achievements, child marriage rates, and early childbirth

rates to age-specific maternal mortality rates.

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseasesAn estimated 11.8 million young people live with HIV/AIDS today and many major actors have integrated them into their HIV/AIDS related programs. Youth-led reproductive health education and peer to peer education has proven to be effective in tackling the pandemic.

MDG 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Young people are more willing to take action t achieve environmental

sustainability. This is due to the fact that it is young people that have to deal with the consequences of not taking environmental sustainability seriously today, as many of the effects of pollution will only become evident over the long term.

MDG 8: Develop a Global Partnership for DevelopmentBuilding alliances and forging partnerships with governments, civil society, youth-serving organisations, and the media in order to leverage resources for investing in young people, are crucial to achieving the MDGs.

Now, let us talk about poverty and its statistics

According to NSCB, 2006…

• 24 out of 100 Pinoy families did not earn enough to satisfy their basic food and non-food requirements.

• 30 out of 100 Filipinos had income short of the minimum cost of the basic requirements.

Which provinces are the poorest?Source: National Statistical Coordination Board

The poorest provinces in 2003 in terms of poverty incidence of families is Zamboanga del Norte (64.6%), followed by Maguindanao (60.4%) and Masbate (55.9%).

• Surigao del Norte

• Agusan del Sur

• Misamis Occidental

• Mt. Province

• Biliran

• Lanao del Norte

What is the minimum income needed by a 5-member family so as not to be

considered poor?Source: World Bank

If it has a combined earning monthly income of PhP 6, 195 or at least PhP 200.00 a day in order to meet their most basic food and non-food

Who are the poor?

Based on RA 8425 or otherwise known as Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act, poor refers to individuals and families whose income fall below the poverty threshold as defined by the government and/or those that cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their basic needs of food, health, education, housing and other amenities of life.

Key poverty related terms

• Poverty Threshold – refers to the minimum income/expenditure required for a family/individual to meet their basic needs.

• Poverty Incidence – the proportion of families/individuals with per capita income/expenditure less than the per capita poverty threshold to the total number of families/individuals.

Main Characteristics of the PoorSource: Asian Development Bank

• The majority live in a rural areas and work in the agricultural sector, mostly as farmers and fishers.

• In the urban areas, such as Metro Manila, they are found in slums and in the informal sector.

• They have large families (six members or more)

• A major income source of the poor is from enterprise income (informal sector activities)

• A significant segment of the poor households are “chronically poor”.

• In two-thirds of poor families, the head of the household has only an elementary education or below

• They have no or few assets and minimal access to credits

Causes of PovertySource: Asian Development Bank, et al. 2008

• Low to moderate economic growth for the past 40 years

• Low growth elasticity of poverty reduction

• Weakness in employment generation and the quality of jobs generated

• Failure to develop the agriculture sector

• High inflation during crisis periods

• High and persistent level of inequality (incomes and assets), which dampen the positive impacts of economic expansion and

• Recurrent shocks and exposure to risks such as economic crisis, conflicts, natural disasters, and “environmental poverty”.

Educational Attainment of Heads of Poor Households

Source: Family Income Expenditure Survey public use files; author’s computations

6%

36%

25%

14%

14%

4%

0% 1%

Percentage

No Grade Completed

Elementary Attended

Elementary Graduate

High School Attended

High School Graduate

College Attended

College Graduate

Post Graduate

Who is vulnerable to what and why?Source: Human Development Report Office

Vulnerability

Who? To What? Why?

The poor, informal workers, socially excluded

Economic shocks, health shocks

Limited capabilities

Women, people with disabilities, migrants, minorities, children, the elderly, youth

Natural disaster, climate change, industrial hazards

Location, positionin society, sensitive periods in the life cycle

Whole communities, regions

Conflict, civil unrest Low social cohesion, unresponsive institutions, poor governance

Policies for reducing vulnerability and building resilience

Preventing Shocks Promoting Capabilities

Protecting Choices

Financial Regulation Universal Provision of education and health

Social Protection

Climate Change Agreement

Full employment Job Creation

Early Childhood Development

Promoting gender and group equality

Building social cohesion and competencies

Macroeconomic policies

Responsive Institutions

Tackling discrimination by changing laws and norms

Natural Disaster Risk Reduction

Crisis and conflict recovery

Social Cohesion

Human beings and the world over need freedom and security that they may be able to realize their full potential.

- Aung San Suu Kyi

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.

- Albert Einstein