In its most extreme form, poverty is a lack of basic human needs, such as adequate and nutritious food, clothing, housing, clean

In its most extreme form, poverty is a lack of basic human needs, such as adequate and nutritious food, clothing, housing, clean water, and health services./Extreme poverty can cause terrible suffering and death,/and even poverty can prevent people from realizing many of their desires./The world’ s poorest people--many of whom live in developing areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe--struggle daily for food, shelter, and other necessities./They often suffer from severe malnutrition, infectious disease outbreaks, famine, and war./In wealthier countries--such as the United States, Canada, Japan, and those in Western Europe-- the effects of poverty may include poor nutrition, mental illness, drug dependence, crime, and high rates of disease./Extreme poverty, which threatens people’ s health or lives, is also known as destitution or absolute poverty./Relative poverty is the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country, or compared to worldwide averages./