POVERTY ERADICATION

DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS

Conceptions of Poverty

Poverty is defined by The World Bank in absolute terms. The bank defines extreme poverty as living on
less than US$1.90 per day> (PPP), and moderate poverty as less than $3.10 a day. It has been estimated
that in 2008, 1.417 billion people had consumption levels below US$1.25 a day and 2.7 billion lived on
less than $2 a day. However, the most common definition of poverty is based on income measures or
consumption levels. It is usually defined as an extremely low level of income.

However different approaches to defining poverty reveal different aspects of the problem, for example
the economists distinguish between Absolute poverty. Sociologists such as Talcott Parsons and Kenneth
Clark in the 1960s developed the concept of Relative Poverty and Social Exclusion. These definitions and
interpretations of poverty have also given rise to conceptualizations that do not use the term ‘poverty’
and instead make use of other concepts that are, nevertheless, closely associated with poverty, such as,
standard of living, livelihood, inequality, and deprivation.

There has been marked progress on reducing poverty over the past decades. 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. Despite the progress made in reducing poverty, the number of people living in
extreme poverty globally remains unacceptably high. And given global growth forecasts, poverty
reduction may not be fast enough to reach the target of ending extreme poverty by 2030.

• According to the most recent estimates, in 2015, 10 percent of the world’s population lived on less
than US$1.90 a day, compared to 11 percent in 2013. That’s down from nearly 36 percent in 1990.

• Nearly 1.1 billion fewer people are living in extreme poverty than in 1990. In 2015,736 million people
lived on less than $1.90 a day, down from 1.85 billion in 1990.While poverty rates have declined in all
regions, progress has been uneven:

• Two regions, East Asia and Pacific (47 million extreme poor) and Europe and Central Asia (7 million)
have reduced extreme poverty to below 3 percent, achieving the 2030 target.

• More than half of the extreme poor live in Sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, the number of poor in the
region increased by 9 million, with 413 million people living on less than US$1.90 a day in 2015, more
than all the other regions combined. If the trend continues, by 2030, nearly 9 out of 10 extreme poor
will be in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The majority of the global poor live in rural areas, are poorly educated, employed in the agricultural
sector, and under 18 years of age. The work to end extreme poverty is far from over, and many
challenges remain. In much of the world, growth rates are too slow, and investment is too subdued to
increase median incomes. For many nations, poverty reduction has slowed or even reversed. The latest
projections show that if we continue down a business-as-usual path, the world will not be able to
eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. That’s because it is becoming even more difficult to reach those
remaining in extreme poverty, who often live in fragile countries and remote areas.

Access to good schools, health care, electricity, safe water, and other critical services remains elusive
for many people, often determined by socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, and geography. The
multidimensional view—wherein other aspects such as education, access to basic utilities, health care,
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and security are included—reveals a world in which poverty is a much broader, more entrenched
problem. The share of poor according to a multidimensional definition that includes consumption,
education, and access to basic utilities is approximately 50 percent higher than when relying solely on
monetary poverty.

Note better, for those who have been able to move out of poverty, progress is often temporary:
Economic shocks, food insecurity and climate change threaten to rob them of their hard-won gains and
force them back into poverty. It will be critical to find ways to tackle these issues as we make progress
toward 2030.

Definitions of poverty based on income reflect the idea that human beings require a Minimum level of
consumption of food, water, shelter and clothing to survive:

a. Absolute Poverty: refers to being below the minimum level of income e required for physical survival.
Typically, it is considered to be US $1 per day adjusted to the purchasing power of one US dollar in a
local market. The one dollar a day poverty line is widely used by international agencies such as the
World Bank and the United Nations.

b. Moderate Poverty: refers to being on an income of $2 per day, typically considered to be a level at
which basic needs are being met but survival threatened

c. Relative Poverty: refers to a kind of poverty that does not threaten daily survival. Rather it is one in
which an individual may not have the income necessary to fully participate in public life in his or her
society.

The poverty referred to in developed countries, for example, is generally an issue of relative rather than
absolute or even moderate poverty even for the very poorest

The concept of relative poverty reveals that poverty is not just about income levels. It also has social,
political, psychological, moral and ethical dimension to it. This is true in both developing and
developed countries.

d. Situational poverty

Situational poverty is usually defined as a lack of resources at a particular time. This could be due to an
unexpected event, such as an illness, a job loss, a natural disaster, or it could be the result of living in a
disadvantaged community. Situational poverty is often temporary, but it can also become chronic if
people are unable to find a way out of it.

e. Generational poverty

It is a type of poverty that is passed down from one generation to the next. Generational poverty often
results in a cycle of poverty that is difficult to escape. This is because children who grow up in poverty
often lack the resources and opportunities that are necessary to break out of it. They may not have
access to quality education, healthcare, good jobs, lack of access to resources, and discrimination. As a
result, they are more likely to live in poverty as adults. Breaking the cycle of poverty requires breaking
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down these barriers. Investing in education, healthcare, and social services can help to break the cycle
and lift people out of poverty.

f. Urban poverty

Urban poverty is a type of poverty that is specifically tied to living in an urban area.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), urban poverty “refers to the
condition of people who lack the resources to secure the minimum necessities of life, including food,
clothing and shelter” in an urban area. There are a number of factors that can contribute to urban
poverty, including a lack of access to education and employment opportunities, poor housing and living
conditions, and a lack of access to basic services like healthcare and sanitation.

According to the UNDP, there are an estimated 1.4 billion people living in urban areas that are
considered to be impoverished. This represents a significant increase from the estimated 400 million
people who were living in poverty in 1990. While urban poverty is a global problem, it is particularly
prevalent in developing countries. In fact, according to the World Bank, approximately 60% of the
world’s urban poor live in developing countries. There are a number of initiatives that have been
launched in an effort to address urban poverty. The UN-Habitat’s Programme of Action for Cities without
Slums is one such initiative that is working to improve the lives of those living in poverty in urban areas.

g. Rural poverty

Rural poverty is a type of poverty that is specifically tied to living in a rural area.

Rural poverty is often caused by a lack of access to essential services and opportunities, such as
education, healthcare, and employment. These can be due to a number of factors, including a lack of
infrastructure in rural areas, distance from urban areas, and a lack of resources.

While rural poverty is a global problem, it is particularly prevalent in developing countries. In fact,
according to the World Bank, approximately 70% of the world’s rural poor live in developing countries.
There are a number of initiatives that have been launched in an effort to address rural poverty. The
World Bank’s Rural Development Strategy is one such initiative that is working to improve the lives of
those living in poverty in rural areas.

The idea of social exclusion in particular suggests poor people exhibit a variety of problems beyond low
income and which often reinforce each other. Such as employment, gender, ethnicity, disability, ill-
health, the lack of opportunity for participation as well as low income.

Defined, Social Exclusion: “refers to process through which individuals or groups are poorly or partially
excluded from full participation in the society in which they live.

Poverty eradication
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The World Social Summit identified poverty eradication as an ethical, social, political and economic
imperative of mankind and called on governments to address the root causes of poverty, provide for
basic needs for all and ensure that the poor have access to productive resources, including credit,
education and training.

Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation,

Is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people
out of poverty.