Dixya Poudel

Today more than ever humanity requires a collaborative stance. Inequality, natural disasters, poverty, illiteracy, and climate change are some of the central concerns worldwide. Adding to them is the coronavirus pandemic. Poverty is one of the debilitating situations of humanity. It is a state of dire financial situation that leads to a minimum standard of living. Because of poverty, the basic human requirements of those affected aren't met. And more than a billion people live in poverty throughout the world. Often causes of poverty are illiteracy, lack of education, overpopulation, unemployment and unequal distribution of income and opportunity.

Likewise, literacy is the ability to read and write in a basic scale. Often illiteracy is a cycle that is woven deeply in socio-economic norms of underdeveloped societies. It leads to unemployment, low quality jobs and low income, inability to understand basic information, lower self-esteem and often a poor health. A nation can't prosper if its citizens are illiterate. Eradication of both poverty and illiteracy should be a priority on a global scale.
Global warming is another severe threat to the planet. It is the rise in the average temperature of the earth over a long term. Human activities are the primary causes of global warming. It is caused due to the emissions of greenhouse gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Global warming results in extreme weather conditions such as heat waves, changes in precipitation and rising sea levels. It leads to ocean acidification, melting glaciers and droughts. Further climate change reduces crop yields which can affect food security direly.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has said, "Humanity is now standing at a crossroad. We must now decide which path we want to take. How do we want the future living conditions for all living species to be like?" Through such voices of the youth, the world is now more aware of climate change and its resultant threats. Social, economic and gender inequalities are some of the further concerns that need to be addressed today. When resources are distributed in a discriminatory manner, they cause inequalities. Social inequality occurs when such resources are disparately distributed according to social strata.

Likewise, economic inequality means an unequal distribution of income and employment opportunities. Gender inequality meanwhile is the social, political, economic, educational and psychological discrimination according to gender. Further, the underdeveloped nations see the rise of brain drain and shrinking manpower which severely affects the national growth. Since the world is interconnected globally, there is still hope for underdeveloped nations to gather their resources and manpower for a healthy economy. The planet has seen many changes in the past decade.

Technology has advanced and now the globe has shrunk to a connected village. Aware citizens are rallying against the threats of global warming, illiteracy, poverty and inequality through technology. As technology advances, awareness multiplies. It starts with small steps that fuel hope for a progressive future. And the world needs a united stance to bounce back from the pandemic. Humanity must reconsider and evaluate its weaknesses so that our earth can be a better place for all of us. And each one of us can contribute in a unique way and through various platforms. For a better world, we ought to realize that we must first start with ourselves.