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Anna Posyniak‑Dutka The Poverty Disease or Diseases of Poverty?

It might be hard to believe but 45.8 percent of global household wealthglobal household wealthglobal household wealth is in the hands of just 1.1 percent of the world's population. According to another indexindexindex, 50% of people on Earth live for less than $2 per day. What’s even more shocking, the poverty indexpoverty indexpoverty index has been growing exponentiallygrowing exponentially [grow exponentially]growing exponentially in countries such as the USA, which we tend to perceive as a land of opportunityland of opportunityland of opportunity and traditionally associate with affluent lifeaffluent lifeaffluent life.

Scientists seem to be in agreement regarding the relationship between health and material situationmaterial situationmaterial situation. They claim that chronic diseaseschronic diseases [chronic disease]chronic diseases are largely diseases of deprived communitiesdeprived communities [deprived community]deprived communities, no matter where in the world they live. Long‑term studieslong‑term studies [long‑term study]Long‑term studies carried out in Glasgow clearly show that people living in poorer areas of the city die 20 years earlier than those inhabiting more affluent districts. The causes of death are often cardio‑vascular diseasescardio‑vascular diseases [cardio‑vascular disease]cardio‑vascular diseases. We cannot generalise, but education seems to play an important role here. People from run‑down districtsrun‑down districts [run‑down district]run‑down districts with limited access to education seem to have lower awareness of the effect of their artery‑clogging dietsartery‑clogging diets [artery‑clogging diet]artery‑clogging diets and unhealthy lifestyles on their health. UntreateduntreatedUntreated, resulting diseases prove fatalprove fatalprove fatal much earlier than in other communities.

Poverty affects how quickly and easily people can receive medical assistancemedical assistancemedical assistance, however, there are different dimensions in terms of access to healthcareaccess to healthcareaccess to healthcare. There are regions of the world, where people live in such remote or deprived areas, that any more serious medical conditionmedical conditionmedical condition may turn out to be lethallethallethal. On the other hand, there are highly developed countries which, however, require their citizens to pay costly medical insurancecostly medical insurancecostly medical insurance. The result is that although healthcare may be at a really high level, people living in poverty cannot afford medical supportcannot afford medical supportcannot afford medical support. Not having access to primary careprimary careprimary care often leads to people developing conditions which are later much more difficult and costly to treat.

Some people say that poverty itself is a disease. A person born into an impoverished areaimpoverished areaimpoverished area or family is likely to repeat the same patterns of behaviourrepeat the same patterns of behaviourrepeat the same patterns of behaviour. They more often reach for drugs and alcohol because they see the older generation do the same. Growing up in poverty has been proven to affect people’s chances of social mobilitysocial mobilitysocial mobility. Children from deprived areas are often labelled no‑hopersno‑hopers [no‑hoper]no‑hopers, they don’t believe in their abilities and they end up living off social security benefitsliving off social security benefits [live off social security benefits]living off social security benefits rather than trying to make their own livingmake their own living [make your living]make their own living. What’s more, scientists have gathered enough data to draw preliminary conclusionsdraw preliminary conclusions [draw preliminary conclsion]draw preliminary conclusions about the impact of distress and the lack of life prospectslack of life prospectslack of life prospects early on on the likelihood of the development of heart diseases later in life. Apparently, people who have experienced deprived childhoodsdeprived childhoods [deprived childhood]deprived childhoods have higher levels of inflammationinflammationinflammation in their bodies and these lead to various cardio‑vascular diseases.

Poverty, however, is not only connected with heart diseases. It affects people’s mental healthmental healthmental health heavily. Wherever there is a change in socio‑economic patternschange in socio‑economic patterns [change in a socio‑economic pattern]change in socio‑economic patterns in society resulting from a long‑lasting financial crisislong‑lasting financial crisislong‑lasting financial crisis, we observe an increase in the number of people seeking mental health support. Prolonged unemploymentprolonged unemploymentProlonged unemployment, impossibilismimpossibilismimpossibilism, hopelessnesshopelessnesshopelessness that anything will ever change impacts people’s psychic heavily and can trigger diseasestrigger diseases [trigger a disease]trigger diseases both physical and mental.

Last but not least, the relationship between poverty and ill‑healthill‑healthill‑health works both ways. Through reasons mentioned above, poverty contributes to disease but also ill‑health can lead to poverty. When people fall ill, they lose the ability to generate incomegenerate incomegenerate income and find themselves on a slippery slope to povertyslippery slope to povertyslippery slope to poverty. In the long run, it impacts the whole community or even country. Children cannot learn, adults cannot work, families lose their breadwinnersbreadwinners [breadwinner]breadwinners. If in some places the disease burdendisease burdendisease burden is big, it can push the whole area or even state into poverty. It’s important to understand those interdependenciesinterdependencies [interdependency]interdependencies to be able to support people on their way to break the poverty trapbreak the poverty trapbreak the poverty trap.

1 Źródło: Anna Posyniak‑Dutka, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.