I wrote last week about the draft sustainable development goals. Goal 1 is to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. The associated targets are these:
1.1 by 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day
1.2 by 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
1.3 implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable
1.4 by 2030 ensure that all men and women, particu- larly the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership, and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology, and financial services including microfinance
1.5 by 2030 build the resilience of the poor and those
in vulnerable situations, and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters1.a ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced develop- ment cooperation to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular LDCs, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions
1.b create sound policy frameworks, at national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies to support accelerated investments in poverty eradication actions.
The value of acting to do this hardly needs stating, and I cannot imagine that anyone reading this will not be looking forward to the day when it comes to pass.
At the moment, about 15% of the world’s 7 billion people cannot afford anything like an adequate diet or adequate housing, and more than 90% of the population in developing economies would count as poor in a developed country. That comes to about 5 billion poor people in poorer countries, compared to at most 80 million in the entire developed world. This is a stark contrast.
The complexity of meeting poverty-related goals was set out in the Economist last week, and it's worth a read, if only to make sure you have a feel for how interconnected – and difficult – it will be. The piece is here. It ends:
"Economic growth is the most powerful weapon in the fight against poverty but, by itself, is insufficient. Governments should also pursue policies that help the poor disproportionately, such as investment in rural infrastructure and health care. The world may not eliminate utter deprivation by 2030, but it can give itself the best chance of so doing."
Not everyone, of course, will want to agree with the first sentence ...
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