Closing the Gap - Pathways out of Poverty

This paper tries to draw attention to the various aspects of poverty. It aims to:

• Identify the causes of poverty;
• Describe the current measures to eliminate it;
• Explain what needs to be done in the future;
• Identify people and organizations that have joined forces to reduce poverty.

The paper:

• Lists the criteria that define poverty;
• Describes the ‘poverty cycle’;
• Looks at poverty in the 1990s;
• Identifies the prevalence of poverty in rich, industrialized countries.

The paper lists the four tenets that comprise sustainable poverty reduction. It further:

• Suggests an international alliance to fight poverty;
• Recommends that each country must attempt to reduce poverty and presents the example of various projects and programs in Bolivia;
• Provides a list of players in the area of poverty reduction;
• Identifies non-government organizations (NGOs), churches and ordinary citizens as valuable assets in the fight against poverty;
• Describes the role of the private sector in reducing poverty;
• Profiles the organization, Workgroup Poverty Reduction through Help for Self-Help (AKA), and its work in the area of poverty reduction;
• Makes suggestions to the reader about helping to reduce poverty.

The paper concludes by recommending books and films that the reader can access to get more information about poverty and listing the addresses of AKA’s member organizations.