The World Bank on Wednesday said the goal of putting an end to extreme poverty globally by 2030 is unlikely, reported The Reuters.
According to a new report released on Wednesday, about 9.3 per cent of the world’s population continues to live in abject poverty. The report said that the COVID-19 pandemic marked a historic turning point after decades of poverty reduction, with 71 million more people living in extreme poverty in 2020, the biggest one-year spike since monitoring began in 1990.
It added that the efforts towards the elimination of poverty have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, increased food and energy costs, and reduced growth in China.
The World Bank report said that barring sharp growth gains, an estimated 574 million people, or about 7% of the world’s population, would still be subsisting at that same income level by 2030, mostly in Africa. Earlier this year the institution warned that as many 95 million people would fall back into extreme poverty by the end of this year.
As per the report, extreme poverty was now concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, which has a poverty rate of about 35% and accounts for 60% of all people in extreme poverty.
The ongoing Russian-Ukraine war, rising inflation and slowing global growth have put further pressure on the bank’s mission to lift people out of poverty.
“Inflation, currency depreciations, and broader overlapping crises” point to a grim outlook, World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement.
He said that progress in reducing extreme poverty has stalled with subdued global economic growth. He called for major policy changes to boost growth and help jumpstart efforts to eradicate poverty.
In the report, the World Bank suggested that governments should favor targeted cash transfers over broad subsidies to support poor and vulnerable groups. It also urged for measures like property and carbon taxes which can raise revenue without hurting the poorest.
