Extreme Poverty and hunger in India

Despite the economic growth and outsourcing of foreign jobs by western companies to India, majority of the Indian population still wallow in extreme poverty and disease. Behind India’s new-found economic strength are three hundred million poor people that live on less than $1 per day. Government figures may indicate a reduction in poverty. But the truth is, with increasing global food prices, poverty is spreading everywhere like a swarm of locust. Conditions are worst in the rural areas where close to 70% of India’s population resides. Statistics show, that 2.1 million children under 5 years old die of malnutrition yearly.

India is not be rated as the most corrupt country in the world as far as the figures go but corrupt practices exist here in India like any other place in Africa. Public school teachers rarely go for classes but still get paid at the end of the month. The ministry of education in India is struggling to identify thousands of so-called ghost-worker names of teachers that only exist on payroll – yet victory is far-fetched.

Mumbai is beautiful and businesses are flourishing but that is for the privileged few. The poor, who are majority, live in slums. They can only see and fantasize about the beautiful things in the city of Mumbai, but can't benefit. The streets of major cities in India, like the rural areas, are populated by persons who can’t even get the minimum amount of calories that is required for survival due to the low quality of food they eat. To many Indians, basic amenities such as proper sanitation, portable water, and health care are luxuries they can only get in their dreams.

Many young girls have resorted to prostitution as a way to escape from poverty and provide for their families. Increasing number of girls are dropping out of schools to look for jobs. In some extreme cases, parents force their girls out of school themselves. This ugly trend spells doom for India’s economy in the future.

As families cut back at the number, quality and quantity of food they consume per day; meat, a source of protein, is no more an option in the menu of many families. People now opt for less nutritional meals – just to put something in the stomach— which has a bad effect on child’s growth. Meanwhile, it’s estimated that 40% of children in India are suffering from stunted growth.