Working Towards a City with Zero Poverty
19 August 2022
SDG 1 calls for an end to poverty in all forms, while leaving no one behind. Even as poverty has been decreasing over the past couple of decades, COVID-19 and other global challenges have made the fight to eradicate poverty more difficult. The city of The Hague, where the poorest neighborhood of The Netherlands, Moerwijk, is located, is working hard to tackle SDG 1 through a multitude of projects and initiatives with its business community and residents.
Policies of the municipality are aimed at providing a secure livelihood to all its residents. It focuses both on solving urgent financial problems, and on helping residents develop financial security and lift themselves out of poverty.
Interconnected Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations are all interconnected, but few are as far reaching as SDG 1, No Poverty. Poverty is strongly intertwined with several other societal problems, such as hunger (SDG 2), illiteracy (SDG 4), mental and physical health (SDG 4) and inequality (SDG 10). This means that ending poverty positively affects these other SDG’s, but also that these SDG’s must be addressed in order to end poverty.
An example of how this interconnectedness is addressed by the municipality of The Hague is the initiative ‘Gezond en Gelukkig Den Haag’ (Healthy and Happy The Hague) which acts to bring the medical and social domains together. The initiative focuses on two of The Hagues’ poorest neighborhoods, Moerwijk and Laakkwartier, where life expectancy is up to 15 years shorter than in The Hagues wealthiest neighborhoods. Various organizations and citizen initiatives have joined the initiative. Often run by multidisciplinary teams, projects address both medical and social issues to help citizens who live in poverty to prosper.
Support for Financial Security
20% of households in The Hague have debts that they have no realistic means to pay off, or are at risk of getting in that position. Somegreat examples of organizations that address this within The Hague are Schuldenlab070 (Debt Lab The Hague) and SchuldhulpMaatje. The former is a collaboration of the municipality with several private and public organizations, to help the 30.000 and growing number of households that can no longer afford to pay their debts. With the goal of a debt-free future, Schuldenlab070 works across seven innovation themes and has set up numerous projects around the city. One such project is the Geldzaken070 (Money Matters The Hague) which offers immediate help and support to those with money problems.
Debt causes stress. This can lead to depression, anxiety, relationship problems, absenteeism from work and social isolation. As a result, people in debt need not only money, but also social support and guidance in arranging their finances. Foundation SchuldhulpMaatje connects people who have problematic debt with volunteers who provide that personal support.
Support With Managing Household Finances
The municipality runs a help desk for those with financial issues, where residents can book appointments to access help. Helpdesk Geldzaken can offer assistance with managing your household finances. Their website also provides different tips on how to save money. This includes courses and workshops offered by the municipality on how to manage and save money.
It can also be difficult for people and families with low incomes to access many kinds of activities that can be beneficial for physical and emotional health. That’s why the Ooievaarspas is offered to give discounts on sports, culture, memberships, and entrance to many activities to households with a low income. This can be anything from free entrance to a cultural festival to sports clinics for children.
Promoting Prosperity Across the Borders
The Hague is situated in a country with a relatively low level of poverty, which means that it is not only tackling SDG 1 at home but also around the world. As more than half of the people in the world living in extreme poverty are in Sub-Saharan Africa, The Hague based startup Zarttech is working to help alleviate poverty in African countries. Zarttech wants to lift 75,000 people out of poverty within the next five years by providing jobs in IT and tech in Africa. With a mission of sustainable economic developments between Africa and the Netherlands, Zarttech is taking The Hague’s ambitions for SDG 1 beyond the city borders.
The Hague and its residents are working together to tackle SDG 1 and the initiatives already in place are helpful and promising. If you would like to get involved, you can sign up as a volunteer ‘SchuldHulpMaatje’ (Debt Help Buddy) or a field worker at the ‘Leger des Heils’ (Salvation Army) or take small steps like donating clothes and items to local charity shops.