1.2 billion people now live in acute poverty, UN report reveals

Global acute poverty has risen to 1.2 billion people, with more than 600m individuals experiencing severe multidimensional deprivation across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The latest United Nations (UN) and University of Oxford index highlights widespread setbacks in access to basic needs, including healthcare, education, clean water and electricity.

In a statement, the UNDP says, “The update reveals that more than half of the 1.2 billion, 617 million, are children, and 83 per cent live in rural areas.

Yet it also shows that many countries continue to make progress, with some reducing poverty rapidly and at scale.

Together, these findings point to both the urgency of renewed action and the possibility of success”.

Commenting on the report, UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo said: “The rise in poverty should be a wake-up call for the world.

Behind these figures are 1.2 billion people facing hardships that reinforce one another: hunger, missed schooling and a lack of clean water or electricity.

This is unacceptable.

But it does not have to be this way.

We know progress is possible.

Countries that have tackled these challenges together, rather than in isolation, have shown what determined action can achieve.” Reacting to the report’s findings, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Economic Justice, Dr Mzwanele Ntshwanti, says the findings point to a clear regression in government social protection measures and employment initiatives.

“It is important to look at the different forms of deprivation; we often think about poverty from an economic or an income lens.

Measures such as the multi-dimensional index then assist us in looking at other areas; whether people have access to water, electricity, food, or you have access to a certain kind of energy and livelihood, education, healthcare,” says Dr Ntshwanti.

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