Basic needs

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The "basic needs" approach in development discourse focuses on the measurement of poverty with a view to its elimination in the shortest amount of time.

As one of the major approaches to the measurement of poverty, the approach attempts to define the absolute minimum necessary for subsistence, usually in terms of consumption goods; the poverty line is then defined as the amount of income required to satisfy those needs. Related approaches, taking their cue from the work of Amartya Sen, focus on 'capabilities' rather than consumption. [1]

As a result, emphasis is placed only on the minimum level of consumption of 'basic needs' such as food, water, shelter, sanitation, healthcare, and education. Development programs following the basic needs approach do not invest in economically productive activities that will help a society carry its own weight in the future, rather it focuses on allowing the society to consume just enough to rise above the poverty line and meet its basic needs. These programs focus more on subsistence than fairness.

The very "basic needs" of some people are food, shelter and clothing, but many other people add other items to that list.