by Mavis Kunjappu

Created on: July 01, 2008

Poverty, which is commonly perceived in terms of population living under a certain income threshold, has many faces.
As described by the World Bank, poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job. Poverty is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.

Technology is capable of providing solutions to overcome these situations.

Technology can increase food production and make food available for the millions who do not have adequate to eat. As an example, the Green Revolution spread technologies that had already existed, but had not been widely used outside of industrialized nations. These technologies included pesticides, irrigation projects, synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and genetically modified food. In 1961 India was on the brink of mass famine. India began its own Green Revolution program of plant breeding, irrigation development, and financing of agrochemicals. In the 1960s, rice yields in India were about two tons per hectare; by the mid-1990s, they had risen to six tons per hectare. In the 1970s, rice cost about $550 a ton; in 2001, it cost less than $200 a ton. India became one of the world's most successful rice producers, and is now a major rice exporter.Famine in India, once accepted as inevitable, has not returned since the introduction of Green Revolution agriculture.

Technology can provide low cost housing and provide shelter for the homeless. A tough new ceramic material that is almost twice as strong as concrete may be the key to providing high-quality, low-cost housing throughout developing nations. Besides, providing low cost housing the use of indigenous material and labour could also provide employment and income opportunities for the poor.

Access to potable water would transform the lives of many people in the developing world. Nanotechnology is already being used to remove contaminants from drinking water and increase the availability of fresh water.

Investments in technology create economic growth driving job growth, creating efficient products that save consumers money . The term information and communication technology' encompasses a wide variety of services ranging from traditional electronic channels such as television, radio and telephone to more recent technologies

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