How To End Extreme Poverty in 3 Easy Steps
Just kidding. It’s a bit more complicated than that.
Today’s poorest people may have steady work and even shelter to come home to every night. They may be earning more than the current extreme poverty line of $1.25 a day.
But that doesn’t mean that humanitarian leaders who have been trying to solve the conundrum of poverty are running victory laps yet.
Yet, there is much to celebrate. Huge progress has been made since the Millennium Development Goals, with 900 million less people living in extreme poverty today than 15 years ago.
A child born today is 60 percent less likely to live in poverty as one born in 2000.
But earning $1.25 a day doesn’t mean that you’re thriving.
Living on just a few dollars a day often means no money for groceries for the week, no change for bus fares and no way to pay for basic necessities like electricity and clean water (yes, in many places across the globe, people must buy water for their homes on street corners).
Should any family have to live on such a small amount of money? Our answer is a resounding “no.” That is why USAID is redefining what economic empowerment looks like in the countries where we work.
To be free of poverty is to have access to the basics in life — enough nutritious meals a day, good health and well-being, training to build skills and knowledge, and freedom and independence in a peaceful environment. People need to be able to weather the inevitable shocks and stresses that crop up on the upward economic climb with the help of a system of governance that offers opportunity to all.
The Hurdles Ahead
Just as an Olympic hurdler adjusts to changing environmental factors, so too does the development community to the evolving geography of poverty. If we’re going to reach of goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030, we have to understand the obstacles and opportunities at this juncture.
What are some of the global trends that challenge progress?
Struggling to stay above the line
Lifting a family above the poverty line is just the first step. Ensuring that a family sustains this new livelihood is the next. In addition to the billion people remaining in extreme poverty, more than another billion people worldwide live just above the extreme poverty line and are vulnerable to falling backwards. Panel surveys in several African countries show that between one-third and two-thirds of households that escape extreme poverty will be re-impoverished at some point in the future.
Growing global conflicts
When states are unstable, achieving a global society free of poverty is an uphill battle. In Jordan, where many refugees from neighboring countries flee, nearly 70 percent of refugee households live below the poverty line of $3.84 per person a day. Nearly 67 percent of refugee families there make crisis coping decisions — a child may drop out of school to work, or a parent might forgo meals so the family can afford winter clothing and supplies.
Whether because of violence, extremism, lack of resources or unaccountable institutions, countries in conflict are unable to sustain the inclusive economic growth needed to lift people out of poverty.
Climate change
Between 2003 and 2012, more than 80 percent of heat waves, droughts, floods and storms were linked to climate change. Because the poorest people rely heavily on natural resources and agriculture for their economic livelihoods, they are most affected, but they also have the fewest resources to weather these shocks. Climate-related natural disasters keep millions in poverty and wipe out any progress they have made in improving their livelihoods.
A shift to urban living
By 2030, experts estimate that 1.5 billion more people will be living in urban areas than in 2010. As more rural residents move to cities in search of economic opportunities, the number of people living in poverty in cities will increase.
Windows of Opportunity
The hurdles ahead may seem overwhelming, but there are some promising trends in the geography of poverty that, if implemented the right way, could unlock the next phase of ending poverty.
New partners in development
Private sector organizations, such as businesses, foundations and others with substantial resources, are rapidly upturning traditional ways of financing projects and funding entrepreneurs in the least developed countries. By creating partnerships, USAID is able to yield $3 in partner funds for every $1 of Agency funding.
A growing youth population
The bulge in young populations seen in places like Africa offers an opportunity to bolster the economic growth of the continent and, in turn, lift more people out of poverty. But education and economic policies must support employment for these young people.
That is why it makes sense to invest resources in places like Nigeria, where 9 million children are out of school (the largest number of out-of-school children in the world, according to UNESCO). During the past five years, USAID trained 3,887 teachers and enrolled 336,000 more children in school.
Rise of the digital economy
New ways of communicating have the potential to accelerate an end to extreme poverty. Whether it’s a farmer using a cell phone to determine the most competitive price to charge distributors for her corn or a team of college students creating the next app to streamline a government service to meet the needs of their communities, the digital age holds the potential to narrow the gap between developed and developing, super rich and super poor.
One way USAID is incubating out-of-the-box solutions that take advantage of advances in science and technology is through development labs that partner with universities, NGOs and governments in 38 countries.
We’ve made great strides in reducing poverty over the past 15 years, but it’s going to take the stamina of all of us to ensure the trend continues in the right direction.
For more information about what we’re doing, download a copy of USAID’s Vision for Ending Extreme Poverty. And tweet us to share your own ideas for ending extreme poverty at @USAID.
