Essay On Poverty In Society

Poverty is a major problem in Belizean society. Studies reveal that around forty percent of the Belizean population lives in poverty. Belize is a small country that derives its main source of income through the tourism, sugar cane, oil mining, citrus and banana industries. Belize is rated as the country with the highest poverty rates in the Caribbean. This phenomena is having a negative effect in our society, and is responsible for many of the issues we are facing today such the increase in crime, poor health, unemployment, no access to education, leading to the disruption of peace among the population. If we are unable to meet our basic needs like food shelter security as outlined by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs it is impossible to be a productive member of society

Poverty is the main factor responsible for poor health in society. In Belize poverty is the main contributor of mal-nutrition among our children with Toledo district having the highest rates followed by orange walk and Cayo. This

Families that have very low economic income, reside in poor housing areas and deplorable living conditions. They may have limited access to water and poor sanitation. This creates other issues like inability to meet hygienic needs, unsafe food preparation. In many cases families may use pit latrines or have to access the bushy areas to relieve themselves. These factors alone can lead to many social problems, most time the children in these communities suffer neglect, may be victims of child abuse or domestic violence. This may negatively impact the child social skills as they may feel like outcast of society and they develop an inferiority complex, they may have low self-esteem this makes them more vulnerable to bullying, or becoming involved in unhealthy practices like alcoholism or drug addictions. These communities normally have high violence rates.in Belize an example of these communities would be south side Belize