- Poverty really is the root cause of all ills in society.
- Be it maandamano, drugs, crime, corruption, war, illness, low life expectancy, lack of noble education, inability to self employed, the list is endless.
The United Nations General Assembly 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Summit is currently happening in New York.
Kenya is well represented by our President, a few members of his Cabinet, his political entourage and administrators, as well as the diplomatic and expatriate corps.
According to UNGA, this summit marks the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals with high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030. This summit also marks the half-way point to the deadline set for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The summit was also to respond to the impact of multiple and interlocking crises facing the world. This means we have now come far enough to talk about ambition and implementation.
Meanwhile, as a lot is working, or is on the pipeline, our core problems remain pending, towards achieving the Agenda 2030 SDGS, as well as our very own Vision 2030 which is embedded in our agenda as well as Kenya’s foreign policy.
So what do ordinary Kenyans want from our elected leaders in the quest to achieve these mandates? It should occur to our leaders that inequality levels are high and poverty, which is equal to societal illness, is still a reality in our society. There is a very good reason; poverty is placed as SDG 1 with the UN calling to end poverty in all its forms everywhere.
Poverty really is the root cause of all ills in society. Be it maandamano, drugs, crime, corruption, war, illness, low life expectancy, lack of noble education, inability to self employed, the list is endless. This also ties very closely with the milestone fundamental universal human rights, where it can be summarised that the inability of the government to eradicate poverty is closely tied to deprivation of basic human rights to its citizens.
So what is ideal for us as solutions to the lurking poverty, SDG agenda 1, as our leaders jet back home? How can we cut poverty and increase or restore the hope and optimism of a new and growing middle class in Kenya?
Create jobs, establish fair work schedules and raise the minimum wage, invest in quality child care and add even better standards to our wonderful education system, expand medical care, eliminate corruption and impunity.
But as we wait upon the government, it is said that the only effective cure for individual poverty is individual effort. The best response to this effort is the constant observation of what other individuals locally or internationally are doing, and remove the mentality that they are favoured by early surroundings and circumstances, but the fact that its their own efforts that have paid back. Besides, handouts are of no permanent value.
Vera is a communications researcher and scholar, currently pursuing Peace and Development Work Studies in Sweden