Poverty Learning Quest: Define

Scenario Each day, while 20% of the world's population uses 80% of the world's resources, 20% of the world's population struggle to survive on less than $1 a day. Much has been written about changing this situation but what has been achieved? Background The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), approved by 189 countries in 2000, set out to reduce poverty and hunger, child mortality and the spread of disease and to improve education, gender equality, maternal health, environmental sustainability and global partnerships. The MDGs recognize that developing countries have much to do but also that developed countries can assist through trade, aid, access to essential medicines and technologies and debt relief. In this Global Learning Quest groups will investigate poverty in a particular country through stories and statistics and progress towards meeting the MDGs. As country representatives you will address a forum on the global question: What are effective ways of reducing poverty? Perspectives on the Global Question Form groups of four or five to investigate a selected country from the Pacific or Asian region, for example: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. As a team learn about poverty in your selected country - investigate how poverty is affecting its people (particularly women, children and indigenous people).