Development Works Number 7, December 2012 | Page 5

&
Realities

Myths
Myth: There is little that very poor people

Reality: Low-income people are as

can do to reduce their vulnerability. The only
thing we can do is keep sending humanitarian
assistance to ease their suffering when disaster
strikes.

eager as others to improve their lives when
they have an opportunity. Just one example is
the popularity of “microlending,” the practice
of making modest loans, as little as $50, to
individuals or groups to start small businesses.
The original program was in Bangladesh; microlending later spread to many other countries.
Overall, there has been an excellent track record
of repayment on the microloans, and many
borrowers have been able to expand their businesses and later qualify for larger loans.

USAID

Experience shows that committed leadership
can bring about rapid reductions in hunger and
extreme poverty. Notably, Brazil reduced the percentage of its people living in extreme poverty
from 10 percent to 2 percent in just five years,
2004-2009. Also in 2009, the country’s income
inequality hit a 50-year low. In November 2012,
Luiz Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil and
2011 World Food Prize laureate, agreed to work
with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the African Union to pursue their
“shared vision” of a hunger-free Africa through a
coordinated campaign against malnutrition and
food insecurity.

Assistance from USAID micro-loan programs and agricultural programs have improved crop production, including
income growth for these farmers and vendors in Sudan.

Myth: Development assistance is a big

Reality: Development assistance is less

part of the U.S. budget and is fueling our record
budget deficits.

than 1 percent of the U.S. budget, so cutting
it would not fix the budget deficit. It does,
however, save millions of lives every year.

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