Ending Poverty

While pre-pandemic global poverty rates had been cut by more than half since 2000,
the COVID-19 pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion
people, or 8% of the total human population. In April 2020, the United Nations issued
a framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19 and created
the Secretary-General's UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. Before the
pandemic, significant progress had been made in alleviating poverty in many countries
within Eastern and Southeastern Asia, but up to 42 per cent of the population in Sub-
Saharan Africa continued to live below the poverty line.

What is Poverty?
Poverty entails more than the lack of income and productive resources to ensure
sustainable livelihoods. Its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited
access to education and other basic services, social discrimination and exclusion, as
well as the lack of participation in decision-making. In 2015, more than 736 million
people lived below the international poverty line. Around 10 per cent of the world
population (pre-pandemic) was living in extreme poverty and struggling to fulfil the
most basic needs like health, education, and access to water and sanitation, to name a
few. There were 122 women aged 25 to 34 living in poverty for every 100 men of the
same age group, and more than 160 million children were at risk of continuing to live in
extreme poverty by 2030.

Poverty facts and figures

• According to the most recent estimates, in 2015, 10 percent of the world’s
population or 734 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day.
• Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are expected to see the largest
increases in extreme poverty, with an additional 32 million and 26 million
people, respectively, living below the international poverty line as a result of
the pandemic.
• The share of the world’s workers living in extreme poverty fell by half over
the last decade: from 14.3 per cent in 2010 to 7.1 per cent in 2019.
• Even before COVID-19, baseline projections suggested that 6 per cent of the
global population would still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, missing
the target of ending poverty. The fallout from the pandemic threatens to
push over 70 million people into extreme poverty.
• One out of five children live in extreme poverty, and the negative effects of
poverty and deprivation in the early years have ramifications that can last a
lifetime.
 • In 2016, 55 per cent of the world’s population – about 4 billion people – did
not benefit from any form of social protection.

Poverty and the Sustainable Development Goals

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

The SDGs’ main reference to combatting poverty is made 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.”

The SDGs also aim to create sound policy frameworks at national and regional levels,
based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies to ensure that by 2030
all men and women have equal rights to economic resources, as well as 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.
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acabar con la pobreza
Si bien las tasas de pobreza mundial previas a la pandemia se habían reducido en más de
la mitad desde el año 2000, la pandemia de COVID-19 podría aumentar la pobreza mundial
hasta en 500 millones de personas, o el 8 % de la población humana total. En abril de
2020, las Naciones Unidas emitieron un marco para la respuesta socioeconómica
inmediata al COVID-19 y crearon el Fondo de Respuesta y Recuperación del COVID-19 de la
ONU del Secretario General. Antes de la pandemia, se había logrado un progreso
significativo en el alivio de la pobreza en muchos países del este y sureste de Asia, pero
hasta el 42 por ciento de la población en el África subsahariana seguía viviendo por debajo
del umbral de la pobreza.

¿Qué es la pobreza?
La pobreza implica más que la falta de ingresos y recursos productivos para garantizar
medios de vida sostenibles. Sus manifestaciones incluyen hambre y desnutrición, acceso
limitado a la educación y otros servicios básicos, discriminación y exclusión social, así
como la falta de participación en la toma de decisiones. En 2015, más de 736 millones de
personas vivían por debajo del umbral internacional de pobreza. Alrededor del 10 por
ciento de la población mundial (antes de la pandemia) vivía en la pobreza extrema y
luchaba por satisfacer las necesidades más básicas como la salud, la educación y el acceso
al agua y al saneamiento, por nombrar algunas. Había 122 mujeres de 25 a 34 años
viviendo en la pobreza por cada 100 hombres del mismo grupo de edad, y más de 160
millones de niños estaban en riesgo de seguir viviendo en la pobreza extrema para 2030.

Datos y cifras de la pobreza

Según las estimaciones más recientes, en 2015, el 10 % de la población mundial o 734
millones de personas vivían con menos de 1,90 dólares al día.
Se espera que el sur de Asia y el África subsahariana experimenten los mayores aumentos
en la pobreza extrema, con 32 millones y 26 millones de personas adicionales,
respectivamente, que viven por debajo del umbral internacional de pobreza como
resultado de la pandemia.
La proporción de trabajadores del mundo que viven en la pobreza extrema se redujo a la
mitad en la última década: del 14,3 % en 2010 al 7,1 % en 2019.
Incluso antes de la COVID-19, las proyecciones de referencia sugerían que el 6 % de la
población mundial seguiría viviendo en la pobreza extrema en 2030, sin alcanzar el
objetivo de acabar con la pobreza. Las consecuencias de la pandemia amenazan con
empujar a más de 70 millones de personas a la pobreza extrema.
Uno de cada cinco niños vive en la pobreza extrema, y los efectos negativos de la pobreza
y las privaciones en los primeros años tienen ramificaciones que pueden durar toda la
vida.
En 2016, el 55 % de la población mundial (alrededor de 4 000 millones de personas) no se
beneficiaba de ningún tipo de protección social.
La pobreza y los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible
Poner fin a la pobreza en todas sus formas es el primero de los 17 Objetivos de Desarrollo
Sostenible (ODS) de la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible.

La principal referencia de los ODS a la lucha contra la pobreza se hace en la meta 1.A:
“Garantizar una movilización significativa de recursos de una variedad de fuentes, incluso a
través de una mayor cooperación para el desarrollo, a fin de proporcionar medios
adecuados y predecibles para los países en desarrollo, en particular los menos
adelantados. países, para implementar programas y políticas para acabar con la pobreza
en todas sus dimensiones”.

Los ODS también tienen como objetivo crear marcos de políticas sólidos a nivel nacional y
regional, basados en estrategias de desarrollo a favor de los pobres y sensibles al género
para garantizar que para 2030 todos los hombres y mujeres tengan los mismos derechos a
los recursos económicos, así como el acceso a los servicios básicos. propiedad y control
sobre la tierra y otras formas de propiedad, herencia, recursos naturales, nuevas
tecnologías apropiadas y servicios financieros, incluidas las microfinanzas.
Más sobre Ending Poverty While pre-pandemic global poverty rates had been cut by more
than half since 2000, the COVID-19 pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as
half a billion people, or 8% of the total human population. In April 2020, the United
Nations issued a framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19 and
created the Secretary-General's UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. Before the
pandemic, significant progress had been made in alleviating poverty in many countries
within Eastern and Southeastern Asia, but up to 42 per cent of the population in Sub-
Saharan Africa continued to live below the poverty line. What is Poverty? Poverty entails
more than the lack of income and productive resources to ensure sustainable livelihoods.
Its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other
basic services, social discrimination and exclusion, as well as the lack of participation in
decision-making. In 2015, more than 736 million people lived below the international
poverty line. Around 10 per cent of the world population (pre-pandemic) was living in
extreme poverty and struggling to fulfil the most basic needs like health, education, and
access to water and sanitation, to name a few. There were 122 women aged 25 to 34 living
in poverty for every 100 men of the same age group, and more than 160 million children
were at risk of continuing to live in extreme poverty by 2030. Poverty facts and figures
According to the most recent estimates, in 2015, 10 percent of the world’s population or
734 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day. Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa
are expected to see the largest increases in extreme poverty, with an additional 32 million
and 26 million people, respectively, living below the international poverty line as a result
of the pandemic. The share of the world’s workers living in extreme poverty fell by half
over the last decade: from 14.3 per cent in 2010 to 7.1 per cent in 2019. Even before
COVID-19, baseline projections suggested that 6 per cent of the global population would
still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, missing the target of ending poverty. The fallout
from the pandemic threatens to push over 70 million people into extreme poverty. One
out of five children live in extreme poverty, and the negative effects of poverty and
deprivation in the early years have ramifications that can last a lifetime. In 2016, 55 per
cent of the world’s population – about 4 billion people – did not benefit from any form of
social protection. Poverty and the Sustainable Development Goals Ending poverty in all its
forms is the first of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. The SDGs’ main reference to combatting poverty is made 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.” The SDGs also
aim to create sound policy frameworks at national and regional levels, based on pro-poor
and gender-sensitive development strategies to ensure that by 2030 all men and women
have equal rights to economic resources, as well as 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.
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