war and poverty
Wars and violent conflict are major causes of poverty and human misery. They kill and injure thousands of people. They leave many others homeless. They weaken economies and communities. And they make the poorest people even poorer.
Conflict is more likely to happen in poor countries, partly because people are desperate for land, rights, water or food. There have been over 150 major conflicts since World War II. Of these, 130 have been in poor countries.
Tackling poverty therefore will contribute to the prevention of conflict and global terrorism throughout the world. Governments spend hundreds of billions of dollars every year on military forces. Far less is spent on actively building peace and developing communities. If even a small amount of the money spent on weapons were spent instead on tackling poverty, many of the conflicts in the world's poorest countries could be prevented.
