Global Issues: Ending Poverty

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic might raise global poverty by as much as half a billion people, or 8% of the world's population, although pre-pandemic rates had been reduced by more than half since 2000. The UN released a plan for the immediate socioeconomic response to COVID-19 in April 2020 and established the UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund for the Secretary-General. Prior to the epidemic, great progress had been made in several Eastern and Southeastern Asian countries to reduce poverty, but in Sub-Saharan Africa, up to 42% of the population still lived in poverty.

Poverty involves more than just not having enough money or other resources to support a sustainable way of life. It shows up as starvation and malnutrition, restricted access to healthcare and other necessities, social isolation and prejudice, and a lack of involvement in decision-making. More than 736 million people in 2015 were living below the poverty level. Prior to the pandemic, 10% of the world's population struggled to meet even the most basic needs, including access to water and sanitation, education, and health care. More than 160 million children were at risk of continuing to live in extreme poverty by 2030, and 122 women for every 100 men in the 25 to 34 age group were living in poverty.

Facts and figures on Poverty

The most recent estimates indicate that 734 million people, or 10% of the world's population, survived on less than $1.90 a day in 2015.

With an additional 32 million and 26 million people, respectively, likely to live below the international poverty line as a result of the pandemic, southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are predicted to experience the highest increases in severe poverty.

Over the past ten years, the percentage of employees worldwide who live in extreme poverty has decreased by half, from 14.3% in 2010 to 7.1% in 2019.

Prior to COVID-19, baseline predictions indicated that 6% of the world's population will not have been free from extreme poverty by 2030, falling short of the goal of eradicating poverty. Over 70 million people could become extremely poor as a result of the pandemic's aftereffects.

A lifetime of ill consequences from poverty and suffering might result from the fact that one in five youngsters live in extreme poverty.

In 2016, 4 billion people, or 55% of the world's population, were not covered by any type of social safety.

Ending poverty in all its forms is the first of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The first of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to eradicate poverty in all of its forms.

The SDGs' primary mention of eradicating poverty is in target 1.A: “Ensure 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.”

In order to ensure that by 2030 all men and women have equal rights to economic resources, including access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology, and financial services, including microfinance, the SDGs also aim to establish sound policy frameworks at the national and regional levels.

There has been marked progress in reducing poverty over the past decades

Over the years, there has been a noticeable improvement in the reduction of poverty. The most recent estimates indicate that 10% of people worldwide lived on less than $1.90 a day in 2015. That's a decrease from 36% in 1990 and 16% in 2010. This indicates that we are able to end extreme poverty. The deterioration has, nevertheless, slowed. The World Bank announced a new objective in April 2013: to eradicate severe poverty in one generation. By 2030, the revised goal is for only 3% of the world's population to be subsisting on less than $1.90 per day. By quantifying poverty, we can determine which tactics for reducing it are effective and which are not. Measurement of poverty also enables developing nations to evaluate the success of their programs and direct their development strategy in a context of swiftly shifting economic conditions.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promises to leave no one behind and to reach those furthest behind first

No one will be left behind, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development pledges to start with the most disadvantaged. Visionary economic growth strategies that are supported by full employment, decent work for all, social integration, reducing inequality, rising productivity, and a suitable environment are necessary to achieve this ambitious development goal. Goal 1 of the 2030 Agenda acknowledges that eradicating poverty in all of its manifestations worldwide is the world's greatest problem right now and a crucial prerequisite for sustainable development.

The persistence of poverty, including extreme poverty, remains a major concern in Africa, the least developed countries, small island developing States, some middle-income countries, countries in conflict situations, and post-conflict countries, even though progress in eradicating extreme poverty has been gradual and widespread. In response to these worries, the General Assembly agreed to declare the Third United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty at its 72nd session (2018–2027). The Third Decade's goal is to continue the momentum toward the eradication of poverty created by the Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008–2017). Additionally, the Third Decade is anticipated to effectively and co-ordinate the support of the Sustainable Development Goals and other internationally agreed upon development goals relating to the eradication of poverty.

Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

The World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen in 1995, identified three key issues: eradicating poverty, creating jobs, and promoting social integration. These issues are crucial to fostering the development of an international community that enables the creation of safe, just, free, and harmonious societies that provide opportunities and higher living standards for all.

The General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was first observed on October 17, 1987. At the Trocadéro in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written in 1948, more than 100,000 people came on that day to pay tribute to those who had died from great poverty, violence, and hunger. They asserted that poverty violates human rights and that cooperation is necessary to ensure that these rights are upheld. A memorial stone that was unveiled that day have these convictions etched on it. Since then, on October 17th, individuals from all backgrounds, creeds, and social origins have united to reaffirm their commitment and demonstrate their solidarity with the impoverished.