Exam (elaborations)
DVA1501 FIRST SEMESTER ASSIGNMENT 1
- Institution
- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
DVA1501 FIRST SEMESTER ASSIGNMENT 1
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DVA1501Q1 THERE IS AN INEXTRICABLE LINK BETWEEN BASIC NEEDS AND
POVERTY AND INEQUALITY.
Question 1
Introduction
Basic needs are necessities that every human being needs in order to carry out their
daily lives. It gives us dignity, sense of belonging and enhancement of standard of
living. Development is the ongoing process of the improving of the quality of human
life. Basic needs are a yardstick for measuring the development stage of a country or
region. In other words they are generally defined in terms of a minimal list of
elements that human beings necessitate, in order to fulfill basic requirements and
achieve a decent life. Typically, the list includes basic commodities, such as food,
clothing, and shelter, as well as essential services, as access to drinking water, to
sanitation, to education, to healthcare facilities, and to public transportation. Broader
definitions of basic needs further extend the attention to other psychological and
social needs – such as participation, self-reliance, autonomy, and self-expression.
Link between basic needs and development
Development means different things to different people. However, the mostimportant
aspect of development is to bring positive change. This implies the right
toimprovement and advancement of economic, social, cultural and political
conditions.In other words, improvement of quality of life means implementing change
thatensures every person a life of dignity or life in a society that respects and helps
realiseall people’s needs and ensures their human rights.
Poverty is one of the biggest socio-economic issue we face globally.The UN (2018)
states that poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human
dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means
not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to,
not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not
having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of
individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it
, often implies living on marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean
water or sanitation. Different situations entail different development just like basic
needs, they differ from house to house; what you consider a need, might not be a
need for your neighbour. Since most basic needs are to be paid for employment as
has also became a basic need for most people in order to earn an income. Streeten
(20144) and Hoadley (2021) mention food, clothing, shelter, water, sanitation, public
transport, health, education, cultural facilities and security as the most basic needs
people require in order to lead a dignified and fulfilling life. The availability of basic
needs and people gaining full access to them is a sign of development in a country.
This entails that the country is under development and is able to provide the citizens
because citizens make the country to be what it is. If there is social relief for the
people who live in poverty filled areas, it means that the country’s economy is
improving and more people will be relieved from poverty, employment is being
generated which means more people will be able to provide for themselves and have
their basic needs met.
As studies show that most countries that experience poverty are developing
countries, this means that there is lack of information as to how the people can get
access to basic needs for example, areas that do not have electricity such as rural
areas are unable to have access to the media and be informed about the social
grants and social distress packages provided by the government to help those in
poor areas.
Yardsticks such as the under-five mortality rate, GNP and HDI can be used to
measurethe development stage of a region or country .In order todemonstrate the
capacity to satisfy the needs of the people of a household, community,region or
country, basic needs are used as a yardstick.Poverty arises in a community when it
has no access to basic needs, with the UnitedNations describing poverty in terms the
shortage of the basic means to survival.The United Nations states in Du Plessis et al
(2017 ) that poverty is a violation ofhuman dignity as it is a denial of choices and
opportunities and leads to not being ableto contribute effectively in society, not
having a clinic or school to go to, not having landto grow food on, not having the
means to feed a family and provide clothes for them ornot being employed to earn
remuneration in order to obtain access to basic needs, notbeing approved for credit.
This all results in a sense of powerlessness, exclusion andinsecurity, which can lead
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