Poor countries have always had little say in international affairs due to them being viewed by developed countries as having inadequate economic prowess to be of any influence on the international stage. Progress be it social or economic has been stifled by corruption, poor government funding, rampant diseases, racial tensions and low literacy level. The priorities of governments from poor countries should have a proper quality education, proper healthcare system, decent infrastructure and low crime rates. With the basic fundamentals stabilised, would it be able to progress and create new opportunities for sustained developments.
As it goes with any society, education is key to building a creative and intellect workforce that would have levels of productivity and improve the standard of living of one. They would possess relevant knowledge and skill to command a higher wage for their qualifications that would add comfort to one’s life. Knowledge is said to be the only thing one cannot be robbed of. If these poorer nations truly recognize the need of education for its multitude of benefits and not just know that education is vital, would they be on the right track. Education that creates a talented workforce would be able to produce thinkers and inventors that can pull the country out of its current “brain drain” situation. With a pool of talented and skillful individuals would they be able to attract foreign investors keen on tapping the undeveloped market that is complemented with a high productivity level. The transfer of technology and management skills know-how would enable these countries to achieve sustained economic growth that would increase the national income and national employment rate of an economy. Singapore was once a highly labour intensive country in the 1970s but the emphasis and constant revision of education led Singapore into a knowledge-based, innovative society that boasts high literacy levels of over 94 percent. It is now a cosmopolitan city that is able to diverse production of various goods. Education thus, should definitely be a priority for poor countries.
However, whether high levels of education can be achieved is difficult to say. Firstly, lack of domestic teachers due to low level of qualifications and the fact that an educator’s income is relatively underpaid, would deter one from the profession. Governments of poorer nations would have to initially “import” educators should the priority be met. More often than not, they would demand higher wages due to their more “advanced” skills and knowledge. Moreover, poorer countries tend to be demographically large with lots of spare land and with no proper infrastructure. The ability for one keen on educating himself to get to school is usually a long and tedious journey due to lack of transports or supply of schools. Schools in poor African nations like Congo, Mali and Chad are sparsely located with no proper facilities for proper education and other developmental enrichments as such drama or sports. This may discourage one to go to school. Also parents of children from these countries tend to make their child to take after the cradle to grave employment of farming than go to school, as they see farming more beneficial. Government thus should emphasize and create understanding for the need of education. For education to materialize and attract investors proper infrastructure should be built.
Poor hygiene practices and lack of sanitation have allowed diseases to be rampant such as malaria and pneumonia that snatch lives away from thousands of children yearly due to their still feeble developing immune system. If these children have a chronic date with the Grim Reaper, then there is little but no future for these poor nations. Human resource is a valuable factor for any country’s progress. The implementation of a proper health care system that can be made affordable and easily accessible to all must be a priority. For it to be effective it has to be coupled with better development of rural nations such as ensuring adequate supply of clean water and proper garbage disposable centres that would diminish the possibility of illness. An obstacle these countries face is the high cost of the provision of healthcare. In US the healthcare is subsidized at US$2800 per capita and in Singapore it is US$400 per capita. If only the wealthier counterparts are able to afford it would undermine the nations effort to build a decent healthcare system. For instance, in Sri Lanka, hospitals can be as little as five in a state. The high demand is not met by adequate supply that sees many left untreated or wait as long as eight years to be treated. Subsidies should be implemented with the priority to healthcare in poor countries.
A common detriment to poor countries is the lack of social cohesion and relatively high levels of crime rates be it white or blue collared crimes require proper law enforcement to be a priority. With social unrest present in a country, focus on where it should be (education cum healthcare) is diverted to violence that breeds inefficiency and casualties. Investors too would become pessimistic about the country’s political climate that would deter investment and also conjure up a negative image of the country’s reputation. They would lose trust from their richer counterparts and would not have the opportunity to host major world events such as the World Cup, IMF meetings and Olympics that can accelerate growth. Governments should regulate and revise laws that could be harsher to negate crime rates. Social tensions could be quelled by implementing civics classes for racial groups to appreciate one and other. For instance, the former ethnic clashes between the Hutus and Tutsies in Rwanda saw over 850,000 casualties. In Brazil drug syndicates have political ties and are difficult to weed out that can result in high levels of violence and in Eastern Europe, high levels of drug trafficking. In Thailand, Red versus Yellow have made the country deemed unsafe to travel that lowered tourist numbers. If corruption and social tensions impeded, it can allow progress to thrive. Tightening of law and proper administration of police forces to inspect and regulate areas should be a priority. With greater influx of tourists as the country is deemed safer can increase government revenue that can be directed to financing merit goods that are long term investments.
Poorer nations are not congested in just one continent. They live in contact side by side with their rich neighbours. Poorer nations have the resources to thrive and should be able to know that they have opportunities – immense opportunities to be economically and politically stable (for instance China). If other countries are rising up they should too. Excuses for lack of funding and what rot is immature. If priorities are identified and rightfully implemented they would finally be a belie all who doubted them but more importantly see that the welfare of their citizens have been enhanced, giving them an equal chance based on meritocracy and minimize outflow of migrants. With higher development of infrastructure, education, healthcare and low crime levels would they be able to handle better world environment problems that trouble the world. With social and economic security, they would have their opinions heard rather than discarded.