Answer:
The Report has two important stories to tell. The first story is inspiring. And gives everyone hope: The Philippines can overcome poverty!
The reason for this optimism is that from 2006 to 2015, robust economic growth helped the poverty rate in the Philippines to fall by 5 percentage points. Hence, poverty declined from 26.6 percent in 2006 to 21.6 percent in 2015. The contributing factors for this decline in poverty were the expansion of jobs outside agriculture, government transfers, in particular to qualified poor families through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, and remittances.
School enrollment has notably increased in recent years, with universal and mandatory kindergarten as well as two years of senior high school added to the education cycles. Pro-poor policies and changes to health insurance coverage have resulted in increased use of health services. Access to clean water and sanitation and electricity has improved. Social safety nets were expanded to cover most of the poor.
All these developments give us hope that poverty can be overcome. It is not at all insurmountable.
But here is the second story, an equally important one: The Philippines needs to do more to end poverty.
While poverty has declined, there are still about 22 million poor Filipinos, as of 2015. These poor families most often live in rural areas with limited access to quality schools, health centers, and safe drinking water, not to mention, roads and transportation that will help them go to their jobs or bring their produce to market.
Some poor families live in areas scarred by conflict or prone to natural disasters. Conflict can force families to move far away from their homes. Disasters can knock down families that are struggling to climb the economic ladder.
Poor families are most often trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. They usually have many children, an average of 5 per family. Pregnant mothers face high risk: every day, 5 Filipina women die in childbirth or due to other causes related to pregnancy.
In a poor family of 5 children, 2 will likely be stunted, a visible sign of malnutrition. Children who remain malnourished in the first 1000 days of their lives do not fully develop the neural connections in their brains, making them unable to reach their full potential, even as adults.
Just half the children in the poor households will enroll in lower secondary school. Even those who do enroll may learn little due to malnourishment and poor quality of instruction. As a result, when they grow up, their chances of getting a well-paying job are slim.
sorry mataas
