Have you seen this video from the World Bank?
It’s part of their #endpoverty campaign and makes a list of things you can buy in the Philippines for one US dollar, or 45 pesos. Among them: a simple cooked meal, 10 heads of small fish and three pieces of suman.
Which doesn’t sound so bad, right? The problem is that people aren’t earning enough to afford spending $1 a day on food. Or is this a chicken-or-egg scenario?
“In the Philippines, $1 (or 45 pesos) can buy a simple meal. For every dollar spent on food, the poor sacrifice other basic needs such as medicine and fare for going to school and to work,” it says.
What is missing in this World Bank video is context.
We’re familiar with what one US dollar can buy in the Philippines—but what we want to know is, if we used that money in another country, can it get us more bang for our back?
Tell us: What kind of food can you get for $1 or PHP45 where you are right now?
