While heads of state size up one another and brag about their nuclear weapons arsenal, millions of people all over the world are more worried about where their next meal will come from. Poverty and resource insecurity is still a crisis that has yet to be solved.
Roughly one billion people of the 7.6 billion that live on our planet live in poverty. That number has been reduced greatly in recent years but still has an enormously long way to go.
As the leading superpower, the United States has a responsibility to address this crisis that is a reality for so many people around the world. A common misconception among the American populous is that a large portion of the government budget is spent on foreign affairs. The number is thought to be sometimes as large as 25 percent. This is a very false projection. In reality, less than 1 percent of the United States budget is allocated to international affairs. For a country that is supposed to be a world leader, this is a grossly low percentage.
Protecting the international affairs budget is crucial to continue the fight for reducing global poverty and ensuring people around the world get what they need to survive. Protecting this budget not only helps people living in poverty around the world, it helps keep us safe here in the United States. As countries with people in poverty rise through the ranks, the stability of nations is increased. This is not only an issue of global poverty; it is also one of national security.
Organizations across the United States are dedicated to protecting the international affairs budget as well as fighting to end global poverty. One nonprofit in particular in the Fargo/Moorhead area is dedicated to eradicating human trafficking, an issue that is often extremely prevalent in impoverished communities. Reaching out to organizations like Unseen that work towards the elimination of global poverty is a great way to show your support and get involved with an issue that is larger than yourself.
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Flancher lives in Moorhead.
