SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

SDG1:NOPOVERTY

THE CHALLENGE The world attained the first Millennium Development Goal target—to cut the 1990 poverty rate in half by 2015—five years ahead of schedule, in 2010. According to the World Bank, in 2015, one in ten people were living on less than USD 1.90 a day Nearly 1.1 billion fewer people are living in extremepovertythanin1990.In 2015, 736 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day The latest World Bank projections showthat if we continue downa business-as-usual path, the world will not be able to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. Children, too, are victims of global poverty, with 29000 children dying every single day from preventable causes – such as diarrhoea, malaria, neonatal infection, pneumonia, preterm delivery, or lack of oxygenatbirth–whicharemoreoftenthannothighlycorrelatedwithpoverty

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Poverty is more than just the lack of income or access to resources – it manifestsitselfindiminishedopportunities foreducation,socialdiscriminationand theinabilityto participate in decision-making processes. For instance, in developing countries, children in the poorest households are four times less likely to be in school than those of the richest. But extreme deprivation is not just about wellbeing and opportunity; it is a question of survival itself. In Latin America and East Asia, the poorest children are three times more likely to die by age 5 than the richest.

HOWCANWEADDRESSTHIS?Endingpovertyinallitsformseverywhereformsthefirstgoalofthe 2030 Sustainable Development agenda. It calls for ensuring social protection, enhancing access to basic services, and building resilience against the impacts of natural disasters which can cause severedamagetopeople’sresourcesandlivelihoods.Theinternationalcommunityagrees,through theSustainableDevelopmentagendafor2030,thateconomicgrowthmustbeinclusive,especially of the most poor and vulnerable, and aims to eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere inthenext15years.