No Poverty: A Mere Distant Dream or A Reachable Reality?

Photo by Sudiksha Varshney on Unsplash

Have you ever woken up starving with nothing to consume and nothing to buy? Or have you ever found your kids crying, asking for school supplies only to hear “sorry, we cannot afford that at the moment” as an answer? If you have never been in that situation, you are one of the privileged ones. In a society where everything revolves around money, it is hard to believe that there are millions of people who wake up wondering how they are able to feed themselves. Poverty remains the toughest challenge the world has faced, that is why the first Sustainable Development Goal, No Poverty, matters deeply. The United Nations has set 2030 as the deadline to end all kinds of poverty. However, in a world that changes faster than we all can expect, one question remains: do we really have the time to achieve it?

Poverty does not only surround the lack of income, it also surrounds the limited choices millions of people are unable to access. There is a big possibility that they lack the ability to access education, healthcare, nutritious foods, and jobs. According to Badan Pusat Statistik, the poverty rates in Indonesia by March 2025 stood at 8,47%, decreasing from the data published in September 2024. Although the number is decreasing, there are still many families living on edge. One single illness or job loss could easily push them to poverty. Therefore, in overcoming poverty, there are permanent ways the government can take rather than temporary measures. They should ensure that every family has access to education and healthcare. Education plays a vital role in the movement of eradicating poverty. When kids are given the opportunity to pursue education, they are also given the chance to restart their lives and change them for the better. Despite the efforts the government has made to facilitate education, such as implementing a zonation program, it appears that there are families that struggle to afford school supplies. By investing in education and its supporting elements, such as providing school supplies, the government can create a generation that contributes in reducing the long-rooted poverty.

On the other hand, I believe that education alone cannot be the sole solution in ending poverty. There must be fair employment opportunities. Many people, fresh graduates particularly, are unable to find decent paying jobs despite their degree. The job market itself has too many requirements that are too complicated for fresh graduates to fulfill. For example, the job requires a 3 year experience before applying with the maximum age for the applicants being 25 years old. This is almost impossible for 22 year old the fresh graduates to fulfill. These almost impossible requirements are creating an unhealthy environment where people depend on Orang Dalam (personak connections or insiders) to earn the jobs they want. This phenomenon is unfair to people who have no Orang Dalam to help them which will end up unemployed and the unemployment rate will rise. Therefore, the government should open more job opportunities that do not have complex requirements or create a law regarding it.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal by 2030 is not impossible and in fact, we do have enough time to reach it. The fight against poverty needs long-term commitment and cooperation between all elements. There are efforts that should be made in order to end poverty, which the government plays such a big role in. They must ensure that the education system is accessible to every layers of society and decent jobs are not exclusive to people with connections but also to everyone who are capable in doing it. Yes, ending poverty starts with shared awareness, but it must end with actions.