Is the Misfortune for the World Poorest Countries Self Inflicted or Externally Instigated

A country's poverty index is conventionally measured with reference to national or individual income; this means a country’s level of development is gauged by its per capita gross domestic product (GDP). Alternatively can be measured according to the number of people living on less than $1.25-$2.00 a day. Concurrently some critics have argued that this focus on GDP is narrow & flawed for at least two reasons, they argue: 1. It overlooks the multiple factors, such as good health, or personal liberties — that make up a complete human life. 2. It can encourage policy makers to foster economic growth without regard to the consequences — exacerbating social inequality in the process, for instance, or sacrificing environmental standards at the altar of rising incomes. (Sounds really familiar)! I happen to agree with the critics, because I have always been skeptical when I hear a country claiming high GDP growth, with no real tangible growth at the bottom (the common citizen) not feeling the benefits of "the high economic growth". This to me (high GDP growth) without the common citizen feeling the fruits of it, if you will of the economic growth is not a holistic view of development & I therefore agree with critics that income alone as economic growth indicator is a crude indicator of well-being. An Oxford study, For example, measures not just absolute numbers of the poor, but also seeks to capture the intensity of their poverty. A country’s ranking is determined not just by how many poor people it contains, but how poor they are. This to me is the holistic view of development because it allows policy makers within a country to break down poverty into simpler & manageable units for ease of addressing it. For instance, say better understanding by regions & can easily be tackled more effectively & efficiently. This brings me to the list of the 20 poorest Countries in the world, these rankings below were published by International Monetary Fund’s 2013 gross domestic product per capita (GDP per capita) report and reflecting the countries with the lowest purchasing power parity (PPP). Just as reference a country with GDP per capita of $765 dollar or less is defined as low-income or poor country. 1. Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) - GDP per capita $394 2. Zimbabwe – GDP per capita $589 3. Burundi – GDP per capita $648 4. Liberia – GDP per capita $716 5. Eritrea – GDP per capita $792 6. Central African Republic – GDP per capita $827 7. Niger – GDP per capita $853 8. Malawi – GDP per capita $893 9. Madagascar – GDP per capita $972 10. Afghanistan – GDP per capita $1,072 11. Mali – GDP per capita $1,136 12. Togo –GDP per capita $1,145 13. Guinea – GDP per capita $1,162 14. Ethiopia –GDP per capita $1,258 15. Mozambique – GDP per capita $1,262 16. Guinea-Bissau – GDP per capita $1,268 17. Comoros – GDP per capita $1,296 18. South Sudan – GDP per capita $1,324 19. Nepal –GDP per capita $1,347 20. Haiti –GDP per capita $1,358. The common denominator here for most of these nations is political instability, & internal conflicts either "internally" or "externally" inflicted. However, some countries in this list make me wonder why they are in this list in the fist place?, for instance Guinea is the second largest producer of bauxite in the world and is known to have rich deposits of gold and diamonds. Another one is Mali It is the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, so one wonders where is all revenue from Gold go to?. Then you have the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), endowed with wealth of natural resources, including in addition to diamonds, cobalt, copper and petroleum, farmlands, & forests. Obviously, for the case of DRC we all know of the infamous "Conflict Diamond/blood diamond". There is a debate that underscores the mining/extraction & export of natural resources might be contributing to internal conflict & hence destabilize some of these countries & enhance create an environment unsuitable for sustainable economic growth. Here are couple questions I will like to get some inputs: 1. If this is the case, who is responsible for this, is it local leadership & politics? 2. The "trading walls"? , what I mean by this is for example for the case of DRC, it is believed that DRC does not have the capability of cutting and finishing the rough diamonds that are extracted from its territory, most exporting activities are handled by third parties, usually diamond exporting firms from Western countries. Also using DRC as an example can this economic arrangement be viewed as an expression, if not an extension of this historical misfortune? 3. Why has the call for legislative controls on the diamond trade have come from only non-governmental organizations throughout the world, and fallen to "deaf-hears”? I will love to hear your insights on this. Thanks pals!