Language
Country/Area
No result found
How does the United Nations define extreme poverty? What is the story behind this standard?
Extreme poverty is the most serious form of poverty. According to the United Nations, extreme poverty "is a state of severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe water, sanitation, health, shelter, education and information. This depends not only on income but also on access to services ability". This standard reflects the United Nations’ multi-dimensional understanding of poverty and emphasizes the basic living conditions that people need.
Measures of extreme poverty, updated over time. In 2018, this standard was mainly defined based on the World Bank’s international poverty line, which is defined as income below US$1.90 per day.
The background to the standards dates back to the 1990s, when the state of poverty began to be reassessed globally. According to statistics from the United Nations, over time, the proportion of the global population living in extreme poverty has dropped from more than 80% in 1800 to less than 20% in 2015. According to the latest data, some 734 million people lived in absolute poverty in 2015. Although this number still seems large, it is a significant improvement for the international community because since 1990, this number has More than a billion people lost.
In many public surveys, people believe that extreme poverty has not decreased significantly, a belief that seems to contradict the data. Among the Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations in 2000, the primary task is to reduce extreme poverty and hunger. The goal is to halve the poverty rate by 2015. This goal was ultimately achieved five years ahead of schedule.
"Extreme poverty is not only a lack of money, but also a lack of human rights."
When it comes to definitions, the United Nations’ interpretation of extreme poverty has continued to evolve over the past few decades. In 1993, United Nations Special Rapporteur Leandro Despouy's definition of extreme poverty focused on the "exercise of human rights." At that time, he pointed out that extreme poverty is not only a lack of personal income, but also a lack of survival security, which directly affects the exercise of basic rights of individuals.
The current international poverty line is $1.90 per day, which is adjusted regularly for inflation and differences in the cost of living. While most international organizations accept this standard, it faces criticism because it does not adequately take into account the depth and level of poverty in which people live below the poverty line. The "poverty gap" indicator better reflects people's economic plight. At the same time, traditional poverty measurement tools cannot cover some non-gold sales situations, such as household production by subsistence farmers.
“The end of extreme poverty is not the end, but the beginning of a new round of sustainable development.”
Regarding the current global poverty situation, according to 2021 data, approximately 710 million people are still living in extreme poverty, which is equivalent to one in every ten people in the world. Therefore, how to break through this restriction has become the focus of attention of the world.
As awareness of poverty deepens, today's discussions also focus on external factors, such as political instability and social conflict, which tend to exacerbate poverty. Data show that countries that have experienced civil war generally have extreme poverty rates that are 21 percentage points higher than those in peaceful countries.
“In fragile countries, extreme poverty will become more of a problem.”
Internationally, the improvement of human poverty needs to emphasize the reform of domestic systems and the comprehensive treatment of poverty. For example, the New Deal for Fragile States since 2011 calls on the international community to take action to assist fragile states in reforming and rebuilding.
Among the challenges ahead, the United Nations and the World Bank have also emphasized the urgency of ending extreme poverty and set 2030 as the target year for poverty eradication. According to various predictions, if current trends continue, extreme poverty has the potential to be effectively controlled by 2030, but this process is also full of uncertainties and challenges.
We can imagine how we will work together in the future to address this global challenge and ultimately find a solution to extreme poverty?
