Poverty is not a new phenomenon; it is as old as human history. While we can not divorce natural causes from it, there are convincingly enough reasons to argue that manmade causes of poverty largely account for the increasingly deplorable conditions of the world's poor people.

There is so much in the world that it is unacceptable to see others go hungry, or not being able to attain the basic necessities.   

However, addressing the issue of poverty goes beyond merely enabling people to acquire these needs; it also calls for attitudinal change, on the part of both the haves and the have-nots, of course.

It is a common thing to see that among the privileged few of society there is the tendency of complaisance, such that we tend to take life for granted. There is the issue of the unwillingness to share, and there is also the issue of exploitation and wastage, mainly caused by the unrealistic feeling of the real impact of the scourge of poverty.

The role of poor people themselves, as can be seen in our part of the world, also counts as much as the influences of the above mentioned factors. The culture of blaming other people for our predicament has more or less become a popular pretext for those of us who find life difficult to bear. This, in a way, serves as an obstacle for some of us to forge our way through.

It is important to note, however, that we cannot make a desirable world if we continue on this trend. Global discourse on poverty reduction strategies therefore ought to feature these issues prominently if we are to realize our goals.