The Fight Against Acute Poverty Worldwide: An Urgent Call
(UNITED NATIONS, U.S.) - Currently, more than 1.1 billion people in the world, or one in eight, live under the shadow of extreme poverty, with half of them being children, according to the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ). This report highlights that the situation worsens to being three times more severe in war-torn regions. In these conflict areas, 34.8% of the population is affected, compared to 10.9% in peaceful nations, according to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed by the UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative since 2010.
Unlike the World Bank's definition, which considers extreme poverty as living on $2.15 or less a day, the MPI includes factors such as lack of adequate housing, access to sanitation, electricity, cooking fuels, proper nutrition, and educational assistance. "The 2024 MPI presents an alarming scenario," commented Yanchun Zhang, head of statistics for the UNDP's Human Development Report, who noted that out of the 1.1 billion individuals living in multidimensional poverty, "455 million reside in conflict zones." “In war-torn countries, poverty levels are three times higher than in more stable areas, and difficulties regarding nutrition, water, sanitation, electricity, and education are three to five times more intense,” she added to AFP. "For those suffering from poverty in conflict nations, the quest for basic needs is a much tougher and more distressing struggle," she continued. According to the report, 2023 has been the year with the most conflicts since World War II. This study, which covers the situation in 112 countries where 6.3 billion people live, reveals that poverty affects rural areas more (28%) than urban areas (6.6%), and that youth under 18 are the most impacted (27.9%) compared to adults (13.5%). The majority (83.2%) of the world’s poor are located in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, while the five countries with the highest levels of poverty are India (234 million), Pakistan (93 million), Ethiopia (86 million), Nigeria (74 million), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (66 million).
In Latin America, 5.8% of the population, or 34 million people, live in multidimensional poverty. In this region, Haiti leads with an alarming 41.3% of its population trapped in extreme poverty, followed by Guatemala with 28.9%. According to Sabina Alkire, director of the Oxford Initiative, conflicts and wars not only leave "deep and lasting scars on people's lives" but also complicate the process of poverty reduction. "This presents an urgent challenge for the international community to focus on reducing poverty and promoting sustainable peace," she stated in a message to AFP.
The growing economic inequality and persistent multidimensional poverty are issues that impact not only individuals but also the development of nations and their long-term stability. It is vital that both governments and the international community work together to find sustainable solutions that address immediate needs while also fostering a more equitable and peaceful environment for future generations.
