According to a report by Caritas Australia, women are put at much higher risk for suffering poverty and hunger because of widespread discrimination that exists is almost all sectors, including education, work, health care, and participation in society. This state of poverty also exposes them to increased risk of violence.
However, when women have the economic power, the entire community benefits, Caritas reports.
"Studies show that women commit their money for household expenses that relate to health and well-being of all household members, for food, medicines and education. In addition, when the level of female education is higher, there is improved and better quality in terms of maternal and child health and also a higher infant survival rate. In some areas of the world women provide over 70 percent of agricultural work and produce more than 90 percent of the food. The World Bank has estimated that just in sub-Saharan Africa, food production could increase 20percent simply by improving women's access to agricultural equipment, fertilizers and seed varieties."
Caritas Australia, a Catholic agency, is working with both men and women to improve economic and social participation of women and girls in their communities. It is also committed to eradicating some of the deeper causes that generate poverty, such as violence and human rights abuses that marginalize women and girls and prevent their full participation in community life.
The agency is stressing the need to protect women and supports the Millennium Development Goal 3 "which recognizes that sustainable growth and development can be realized only when all the men, women, girls and boys, have full involvement in issues that affect their lives."
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
Women Account for 70% of the World's Poor
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Because of the systematic discrimination women endure in so many cultures around the world, new statistics show they account for 70 percent of the world's poor.
According to a report by Caritas Australia, women are put at much higher risk for suffering poverty and hunger because of widespread discrimination that exists is almost all sectors, including education, work, health care, and participation in society. This state of poverty also exposes them to increased risk of violence.
However, when women have the economic power, the entire community benefits, Caritas reports.
"Studies show that women commit their money for household expenses that relate to health and well-being of all household members, for food, medicines and education. In addition, when the level of female education is higher, there is improved and better quality in terms of maternal and child health and also a higher infant survival rate. In some areas of the world women provide over 70 percent of agricultural work and produce more than 90 percent of the food. The World Bank has estimated that just in sub-Saharan Africa, food production could increase 20percent simply by improving women's access to agricultural equipment, fertilizers and seed varieties."
Caritas Australia, a Catholic agency, is working with both men and women to improve economic and social participation of women and girls in their communities. It is also committed to eradicating some of the deeper causes that generate poverty, such as violence and human rights abuses that marginalize women and girls and prevent their full participation in community life.
The agency is stressing the need to protect women and supports the Millennium Development Goal 3 "which recognizes that sustainable growth and development can be realized only when all the men, women, girls and boys, have full involvement in issues that affect their lives."
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
According to a report by Caritas Australia, women are put at much higher risk for suffering poverty and hunger because of widespread discrimination that exists is almost all sectors, including education, work, health care, and participation in society. This state of poverty also exposes them to increased risk of violence.
However, when women have the economic power, the entire community benefits, Caritas reports.
"Studies show that women commit their money for household expenses that relate to health and well-being of all household members, for food, medicines and education. In addition, when the level of female education is higher, there is improved and better quality in terms of maternal and child health and also a higher infant survival rate. In some areas of the world women provide over 70 percent of agricultural work and produce more than 90 percent of the food. The World Bank has estimated that just in sub-Saharan Africa, food production could increase 20percent simply by improving women's access to agricultural equipment, fertilizers and seed varieties."
Caritas Australia, a Catholic agency, is working with both men and women to improve economic and social participation of women and girls in their communities. It is also committed to eradicating some of the deeper causes that generate poverty, such as violence and human rights abuses that marginalize women and girls and prevent their full participation in community life.
The agency is stressing the need to protect women and supports the Millennium Development Goal 3 "which recognizes that sustainable growth and development can be realized only when all the men, women, girls and boys, have full involvement in issues that affect their lives."
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
