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Sport - A way in to the way out of poverty
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If the development community is redefining poverty then it should recognise the contribution of sport to its alleviation.

Sport – a multiple purpose tool
“Multidimensional poverty”

has been a bit of a craze in the development world (adopted widely by UN agencies, INGOs and governments). It is a move away from defining inequality on the basis of financial income alone towards a more complete definition. Instead, multidimensional poverty is measured in terms of access to health, education and living standards. Three sectors that are further broken down in to ten indicators that make up the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

This approach might be new (2010) but the sport and development (S&D) sector has been working in these areas for more than the past few years.

Health
Health is arguably where sport has the greatest impact. In countries across the world sport is called on to combat illness and improve physical well-being. The two MPI indicators allocated to health are child mortality and nutrition.

SwimSafe in Bangladesh is just one S&D organisation that is working to eliminate child mortality. Free swimming lessons are offered to reduce drownings in the country’s annual monsoon season. Meanwhile, Sport Sans Frontieres is a French group who use physical activity to teach healthy eating.

Education
The MPI divides education in to number of years of schooling and child enrolment. There is evidence that shows sports facilities attract children to school and keep them there. Studies also show improved concentration and academic performance as a result.

A UNICEF programme in Haiti, Play and Learning Activities for Youth (PLAY), uses portable playground equipment to continue schooling in post-disaster settings. Elsewhere Indian NGO Magic Bus maintains a close relationship with the existing school system in the country, seeing their work as complementary to the academic curriculum.

Living standards
The third and final section of the MPI is perhaps closest to our traditional view of poverty in talking about the availability of cooking fuel, toilet facilities, clean water, electricity, a floor and assets (possessions and finances). It would be naïve to claim sport can provide the basic standards of living. That does not mean it has no impact on living standards however.

One criticism of the Multidimensional Poverty Index is that it does not account for quality of life: an area in which sport is strong. Sport is famed for instilling intrinsic values of hope, happiness and community.

Poverty Day
The theme of this month’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October) was

“Working together towards a world without discrimination: Building on the experience and knowledge of people in extreme poverty.”

It is a theme that fits in this wider development trend of broadening definitions, involving more voices. If poverty means more than a lack of money and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working towards a more inclusive process of its eradication, then it is clear that what we know as “poverty” is changing. This new understanding necessitates a new approach. Sport should be part of it.

#EndPoverty

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