ERADICATION OF

EXTREME POVERTY OF
HUNGER

By: Sem. Wilven Z. Sombilon

MDG 1 aims to eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger.
It has three targets:
Target 1.A:
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of
people whose income is less than $1.25 a day
• The target of reducing extreme poverty rates by half was
met five years ahead of the 2015 deadline.
• More than 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme
poverty since 1990.
• In 1990, nearly half of the population in the developing
regions lived on less than $1.25 a day. This rate dropped
to 14 percent in 2015.
• At the global level more than 800 million people are still
living in extreme poverty.
Target 1.B:
Achieve full and productive employment and decent
work for all, including women and young people
• Globally, 300 million workers lived below the $1.25 a day
poverty line in 2015.
• The global employment-to-population ratio – the
proportion of the working-age population that is employed –
has fallen from 62 percent in 1991 to 60 percent in 2015,
with an especially significant downturn during the global
economic crisis of 2008/2009.
• Only four in ten young women and men aged 15-24 are
employed in 2015, compared with five in ten in 1991.
Target 1.C:
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of
people who suffer from hunger
• The proportion of undernourished people in the
developing regions has fallen by almost half since 1990.
• Globally, about 795 million people are estimated to be
undernourished.
• More than 90 million children under age five are still
undernourished and underweight.
Key facts
- In 2009 about 1.02 billion people were estimated to be
chronically deprived of adequate food. According to The
State of Food Insecurity in the World, the number of
undernourished people increased by 105 million from 2008
to 2009.
- The Asia and Pacific region were home to over half the
world’s population and nearly two-thirds of the world’s
hungry people.
- The World Bank has indicated that higher food prices
and the economic crisis were expected to push as many
as 100 million more people into poverty in 2008.
- In spite of the deteriorating situation, close to 40
developing countries had either reached the MDG 1
hunger reduction target by 2009, or experienced very low
levels of hunger.
 More than 700 million people, or 10 percent of the world
population, still live in extreme poverty today, struggling to
fulfil the most basic needs like health, education, and access
to water and sanitation, to name a few. The majority of
people living on less than $1.90 a day live in sub-Saharan
Africa. Worldwide, the poverty rate in rural areas is 17.2 per
cent—more than three times higher than in urban areas.
 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 percent
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
WHAT FAO IS DOING
FAO focuses on poverty and hunger
reduction through a twin-track approach:
• improving agricultural productivity and incomes and
promoting better
nutritional practices at all levels; and
• promoting programme that enhance direct and
immediate access to food by the neediest.
 What You Can Do
to End Poverty and
Hunger?
1) No poverty – End poverty in all its forms
everywhere
Like many of the development goals, this
sounds like a massive destination we cannot reach,
but that isn’t the case. Even a journey of a million
miles starts with a single step – it starts with you.
There are many ways you can help end poverty, but
this is by far the easiest one – lend money to
upcoming businesses or people in need and help
them get up on their feet.
2) Zero hunger – End hunger, achieve food
security and improved nutrition, and promote
sustainable agriculture
Ending world hunger doesn’t happen in a
day, but there’s a lot you can do for the hungry in
your area. Ideas include volunteering in a soup
kitchen or donating leftover food, and many more
will have a similar impact
3) Good health and well being – Ensure healthy
lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Good news happens slowly, and this is
really the case with this goal. There’s a lot to do still,
of course, but when comparing the current health
state to the one in 1990, there are major
developments all around the world. Maternal
mortality has fallen by almost 50% since 1990, and
many preventable diseases are slowly being
eradicated, with percentages of illness and mortality
dropping with every day that goes by.
4) Quality education – Ensure inclusive and quality
education for all and promote lifelong learning
Access to education benefits us in many
other fields – educated people live longer, and so do
their children, they have better chances of finding a
good income source and fulfilling themselves, and
they create a better society for all of us.
Quality education starts with you – as a student, as a
parent or as a teacher, we all get a say in how we
educate the next generations and what tools we give
them to build our future.
Causes of Hunger
 Some of the basic causes of hunger are societal,
such as:
POVERTY:
When people are in a state of poverty, they lack the
resources to cover their basic needs such as food, water,
and shelter.
CONFLICT:
Conflict often uproots people from their homes and
land, so food production dwindles or stops completely.
Conflict also disrupts economies, so markets become
unstable. This leaves people who are already vulnerable
more susceptible to malnutrition.
GENDER INEQUALITY:
Though women produce the majority of food in
developing countries and are typically the primary
caregivers for children, gender inequality in societies
leads to a higher malnutrition rate among WOMEN
AND GIRLS.
 Other causes of hunger are environmental,
such as:

SEASONAL CHANGES:
For people who live in rural areas and rely on
farming and livestock for food and income, seasonal
changes in climate, along with food prices and
availability, affect hunger. This results in annual cycles
of hunger, known as the “hunger season,” that are
devastating.
NATURAL DISASTERS:
Much like conflict, natural disasters can destroy
homes, land, jobs, and markets. Until communities can
be rebuilt, people affected by natural disasters are at
greater risk for malnutrition. Climate change plays a
role in increasing natural disasters.
LACK OF ACCESS TO SAFE WATER:
Unsafe or scarce water creates and exacerbates
malnutrition. Without access to safe water, crops can’t
grow properly, and people can’t survive or stay healthy.
 We can reduce poverty and hunger by:
• Investing in agriculture
• Creating jobs
• Expanding social safety nets
• Expanding nutrition programs that target children
under 2 years of age
• Universalizing education
• Promoting gender equality
• Protecting vulnerable countries during crises
Our Poverty and Hunger
Strategy
• Provide governments zero-interest development financing,
grants, and guarantees
• Offer technical assistance and other advisory services to
reduce poverty and malnutrition
• Use safety nets and nutrition programs to cushion the
impact of the food and financial crises
• Increase support for agriculture and food security
• Boost spending on agriculture to $8-10 billion a year
between 2013-2015, up from $4 billion in 2008.
• Serve as trustee for the multi-donor Global Agriculture and
Food Security Program (GAFSP) helping countries develop
and implement food security strategies.
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!
QUESTIONS