I note with great concern the findings of the National Audit Office (NAO), which reports that current statistics provide an incomplete picture of poverty in the Maltese islands. Through its research and beyond, the faculty urges the national authorities to enhance their social policies in order to combat the structural causes of poverty, to promote integral human development and to put an end to all preventable instigators of poverty.
The faculty is committed, through scholarship and research, to the eradication of poverty in all its forms. Recently, the faculty, in collaboration with the ministry responsible for social policy, announced an in-depth study on deinstitutionalisation and its attendant risks of poverty, being carried out alongside government stakeholders.
While acknowledging the government’s actions over the past years to alleviate poverty, I echo the concerns of NAO that unacceptable gaps still remain in the data about poverty in Malta.
Addressing the experiences and aspirations of people exiting institutional structures is an effective way to further expand this data and make a valuable contribution to anti-poverty strategies.
The NAO stated that the situation being experienced by vulnerable and marginalised individuals and families may be severely underestimated in official measures, rendering them and their distress all but invisible.
Poverty is complex, with factors beyond the control of any one organisation or government entity
Vulnerable groups whose experiences are not being sufficiently indicated include people living with challenges to their mental health, victims of gender-based and domestic violence, the older persons, persons with disability, including those living in institutions where they do not have rights over their finances, prisoners, asylum seekers and refugees, single parents (especially mothers) and the homeless.
Poverty is complex, with factors beyond the control of any one organisation or government entity.
For this reason, the NAO has called for “consistent investment through targeted and diversified measures… to address ever-expanding and diverging needs”. There is an urgent need for further investment in academic and research-based contributions to achieve these objectives on behalf of national authorities and sectoral collaborators.
Moreover, it is necessary for renewed attention to be given to the growing inequalities between the rich and poor in society. The challenges posed by COVID-19 are exacerbating these inequalities while also threatening the well-being of those at risk of poverty in a disproportionate way.
Such concerns are echoed by the latest global data from the World Bank, which states that increasing numbers of urban dwellers are expected to fall into extreme poverty, which has traditionally affected people in rural areas.
On a global platform, the COVID-19 crisis has also diminished shared prosperity, defined as the growth in the income of the poorest 40 per cent of a country’s population.
For these reasons, Malta must take constructive action during the ongoing pandemic and current economic uncertainties, with a vision that prioritises the best interests of the most vulnerable members of society.
As a faculty, we remain committed to provide academic, evidence-based research and policy-informing support throughout this process to pursue the eradication of poverty and the long-term well-being of individuals and families throughout the Maltese islands.
Andrew Azzopardi, Dean, Faculty for Social Well-being