POVERTY AND HUNGER ALLEVIATION CRIES FOR ‘URGENT GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CHANGE’

Even as poverty and hunger dots every civilization across the globe today, the world is not short of efforts to thwart the same. Global poverty and hunger has been growing consistently, conquering newer regions and cultures, hand-in-hand with efforts to curb the same.

The fact that these fundamental difficulties have spread across the globe like a raging fire, bring into focus the role and effectiveness of international organizations, who are supposed to curb/control the same.

The world is not short of international organizations/committees/boards/councils for all prevailing issues.  Why are these agencies not being effective, despite being vested with immense power and reasonable funds?. Today hunger and poverty alleviation require urgent desperate efforts; millions are sick, millions are starving, and many are joining them, at an increasing rate. However despite the urgency we need to stop here, with an iron heart, look up at the past to redraw our future.

“Poor shall lead us” — The Rich

Iin Nov. 2009, India’s Rahul Gandhi, the General Secretary of the ruling Congress party, said that there were “two India’s, one for the rich and the other for the poor”. He said that it was only the poor who can take the country forward. He also added that to take the poor ahead, the Prime Minister Singh’s economic strategy was important.

The fact that Singh would be remembered as a prime minister, whose personal financial expertise didn’t benefit the poor of the country, is another story. However, as per the Lok Sabha nomination papers of Rahul Gandhi in 2009, his disclosed assets were Rs. 2.25 crore and that of his mother, party president Sonia Gandhi was Rs. 1.34 crore. Thus by all standards it can be said that Rahul Gandhi was from a rich India and not a poor India, even as he wanted the poor to lead. This single episode holds good for the global leadership case, poor are unable to speak for themselves, someone else who did not belong to their class, need to show them the way.

Missionaries of poverty alleviation?

How did Islam and Christian missionaries successfully spread their religions across the world, despite the then, existing beliefs and practices, of those times?. Islam and Christianity spread despite barriers like race, language and culture. Why then, can’t welfare be spread across the globe successfully?. With respect to the spread of religions, there was definitely an initial hurdle like skepticism and apprehension between the giver and the taker, which is not the case when welfare is shared today.

Why did International organizations and their bureaucrats fail to share prosperity across the globe?. The reason here is that just like Rahul Gandhi spoke for the poor; irrelevant people are spearheading the cause of a needy population; a population they do not personally identify with. The working representatives of International organizations are elite and influential, have their own personal/family wealth, businesses, a horde of personal interests/gainful activities. For them, these assignments and the efforts they showcase are their duties which for them would be wound up, when their tenure completes.

Unlike these officers, the missionaries of yesteryears believed in a cause, they gained satisfaction and gratification in what they saw as helping people. They saw themselves as representatives of their respective Gods and had a divine duty. The missionaries sought neither retirement nor bonuses and allowances. The difference in the ‘neural structure’ of those missionaries and these international bureaucrats is what makes the differential impact.

Top officers of these  International welfare organizations, actually carry out some of the most important tasks that impact millions of people across the globe.  Ironically, despite its huge implications and relevance, these positions are among the least accountable jobs in the world.

In a paper titled ‘The accountability of International Organizations’ by the Global Public Policy Institute, Simon Burall and Caroline Neligan say that the size of these organizations are too large and thus the chain of responsibility, which make it difficult to hold these organizations responsible.  Their opinion is that, identifying accountability principles and guidelines is not difficult, but what is difficult is persuading these IGOs or intergovernmental organizations to accept and abide them.

However more than these guidelines and accountability principles, it is the self-drive and passion for the cause which can make the difference. It wouldn’t be difficult for these bureaucrats to prove personal performance, despite nothing being actually achieved on ground. When these people don’t personally identify with the cause, their efforts are bound to go to drains.

Class identity is inbuilt

India’s Shashi Tharoor, the former minister of state for external affairs, once responded to the austerity measures like economic class travel as ‘cattle class’ in his Twitter response. It is possible that he was only acknowledging ‘cattle class’ and was not the originator of the term.

However, forget the fact that he was minister. Sashi Tharoor was a man who served 26 years in the UN, last serving as the under secretary-general for communications and public information. Tharoor was in race for the post of the UN Secretary General which he lost to Ban Ki-Moon. This is a man who spent about half his life, for the betterment of deprived sections, either directly or indirectly; that he consciously or subconsciously considers, cattle class. Tharoor was not able to identify himself with the sections he worked for.

Class identification in general and extreme dedication to the cause, could probably produce results. There is enough evidence that the efforts of international welfare organizations aren’t producing the intended results. It is high time to experiment with alternative leaderships. Handing over the welfare of the poor to the poor themselves, might be a starter. Perhaps just like all other cases, only poverty owners can address poverty effectively.