The COVID-19 pandemic delivered a stark reminder of global fragility, reversing decades of progress in poverty reduction. For the first time in a generation, the number of people living in extreme poverty increased, exacerbating existing inequalities and hindering advancements in crucial areas like childhood vaccination and income equality. This unprecedented setback underscores the critical need to address and solve extreme poverty, not just as a humanitarian imperative but as a cornerstone for global stability and sustainable development. If current trends persist, projections estimate a staggering 575 million people will remain trapped in extreme poverty by 2030, with 84 million children out of school. Furthermore, achieving gender equality and eliminating discriminatory laws could take nearly 300 years at the current pace. The crisis in 2020 alone pushed an additional 71 million people into extreme poverty, marking the most significant regression in global poverty reduction in decades.
The urgency of the situation prompted the United Nations to issue a framework for immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19 in April 2020 and establish the Secretary-General’s UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. These actions highlight the global recognition of the devastating impact of poverty and the necessity for immediate and coordinated solutions.
While significant strides were made in poverty reduction between 1990 and 2014, with over a billion people escaping extreme poverty, the pace of progress has drastically slowed. The global poverty rate, which decreased by an average of 1.1 percentage points annually during that period, slowed to a mere 0.6 percentage points per year between 2014 and 2019 – the slowest rate in three decades. The majority of poverty reduction during the initial period was concentrated in East Asia and the Pacific, as well as South Asia, indicating regional disparities in progress.
Understanding Extreme Poverty
Poverty is a multifaceted issue that extends far beyond a lack of income. It encompasses hunger, malnutrition, limited access to education and essential services, social exclusion and discrimination, and a lack of participation in decision-making processes. In 2015, over 736 million people lived below the international poverty line. Even before the pandemic, approximately 10% of the global population struggled in extreme poverty, lacking the most basic necessities such as healthcare, education, clean water, and sanitation. Gender inequality further exacerbates poverty, with 122 women aged 25 to 34 living in poverty for every 100 men in the same age group. Alarmingly, over 160 million children are at risk of remaining in extreme poverty by 2030, highlighting the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
Startling Poverty Facts and Figures
- Recent estimates for 2023 indicate that nearly 700 million people worldwide are living on less than $2.15 per day. This stark figure underscores the sheer scale of extreme poverty in the 21st century.
- The proportion of working individuals living in extreme poverty halved between 2010 and 2019, falling from 14.3% to 7.1%. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused this positive trend to reverse in 2020, marking the first increase in two decades.
- Current projections indicate that the global goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 will likely be missed. Nearly 600 million people are expected to remain trapped in extreme poverty, a grim testament to the challenges ahead.
- One in six children globally lives in extreme poverty, emphasizing the disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations. While there was a decrease in the number of children living on less than US$2.15 a day between 2013 and 2022, the economic repercussions of COVID-19 erased three years of progress.
- In 2021, a staggering 53% of the world’s population – 4.1 billion people – lacked access to any form of social protection, leaving them highly vulnerable to economic shocks and further entrenching poverty.
Poverty and the Sustainable Development Goals
Eradicating poverty in all its forms stands as the first of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This prioritization reflects the understanding that solving extreme poverty is not only a moral imperative but also a prerequisite for achieving broader global development.
SDG target 1.A specifically addresses resource mobilization to combat poverty, emphasizing the need for “significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions.”
Furthermore, the SDGs advocate for establishing robust policy frameworks at national and regional levels. These frameworks should be grounded in pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies to ensure equal rights for all men and women to economic resources, basic services, land ownership, property rights, inheritance, natural resources, technology, and financial services, including microfinance.
Measuring Poverty Effectively
While significant progress in poverty reduction has been observed over recent decades, with the percentage of the world’s population living at or below $1.90 a day decreasing from 36% in 1990 to 10% in 2015, and approximately 700 million people subsisting on less than $2.15 in 2023, the current pace is insufficient.
The stark reality is that at the current rate of progress, the world is unlikely to achieve the global objective of ending extreme poverty by 2030. Estimates indicate that nearly 600 million people will still be struggling with extreme poverty at that time.
Extreme poverty is disproportionately concentrated in regions where eradication is most challenging – least developed countries, conflict zones, and remote rural areas. The outlook is equally concerning for the nearly half of the world’s population living on less than $6.85 a day, the poverty line used for upper-middle-income countries, indicating widespread vulnerability beyond extreme poverty.
Global Action is Imperative
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development embodies the commitment to leave no one behind and prioritize reaching the most marginalized populations first. Achieving this ambitious agenda necessitates visionary policies that foster sustainable, inclusive, and equitable economic growth, supported by full employment, decent work for all, social integration, reduced inequality, increased productivity, and a conducive global environment. Goal 1 of the 2030 Agenda explicitly recognizes poverty eradication as the paramount global challenge and an indispensable prerequisite for sustainable development.
Despite incremental and widespread progress in poverty eradication, the persistence of poverty, particularly extreme poverty, remains a significant concern in Africa, least developed countries, small island developing states, certain middle-income countries, and nations experiencing conflict or post-conflict situations. In response to these persistent challenges, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Third United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2018–2027). This decade aims to sustain the momentum generated by the Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017) and to bolster the achievement of internationally agreed development goals related to poverty eradication, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Role of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
The 1995 World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen identified poverty eradication, employment generation, and social integration as core issues in building a secure, just, and harmonious global community that offers opportunities and improved living standards for all.
Within the United Nations system, the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) serves as the focal point for the United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty. DESA undertakes activities to assist governments in effectively implementing the commitments and policies outlined in the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and subsequent initiatives adopted at the 24th Special Session of the General Assembly.
Accelerating SDG Progress: A Potential Game-Changer
At the 2023 SDG Summit in New York, the General Assembly adopted a political declaration to accelerate action towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This declaration aims to promote economic prosperity and well-being for all while safeguarding the environment. It also includes commitments to financing for developing countries and supports the proposal for an SDG Stimulus of at least $500 billion annually, alongside an effective debt-relief mechanism, signaling a renewed global push to address development challenges, including extreme poverty.
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: A Day for Reflection and Action
Through resolution 47/196, the General Assembly designated October 17th as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This day serves as a crucial annual reminder of the ongoing struggle against poverty and the urgent need for global solidarity and action.
The observance of this day originates from October 17, 1987, when over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris, the site of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights signing, to honor victims of extreme poverty, violence, and hunger. They declared that poverty is a violation of human rights and emphasized the collective responsibility to uphold these rights. Their convictions are inscribed on a commemorative stone unveiled that day. Every year since, people from diverse backgrounds gather on October 17th to reaffirm their commitment and express solidarity with those living in poverty.
Resources
[Original Article Source](URL of original article if available)
UN Sustainable Development Goals
World Bank Poverty Data
UNDESA – Division for Social Policy and Development
