Nigeria and other Sub- Saharan Africa countries responsible for 60 percent of the 389 million people in extreme poverty, NewsSpecng learnt.
The World’s Bank Poverty and Shared Prosperity latest report launched on Wednesday in Washington DC states that Sub-Saharan Africa’s poverty rate is about 35 percent, which is the world’s highest.
The report posited that the region would need to achieve per-capita GDP growth of 9% per year for the remainder of this decade if it is to achieve the 2030 poverty alleviation goal, under the Sustainable Development Goal 1, which is to end poverty anywhere in the world.
The current reality is that .ore than 700 million people, or 10 per cent of the world population, still live in extreme poverty, struggling to fulfil the most basic needs like health, education, and access to water and sanitation.
The majority of people living on less than $1.90 a day live in sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, the poverty rate in rural areas is 17.2 per cent—more than three times higher than in urban areas.
Report also has it that for those who work, having a job does not guarantee a decent living. In fact, 8 per cent of employed workers and their families worldwide lived in extreme poverty in 2018. One out of five children live in extreme poverty.
Ensuring social protection for all children and other vulnerable groups is critical to reduce poverty.
The current report however stated, “That’s an exceptionally high hurdle for countries whose per-capita GDP growth averaged 1.2 percent in the decade before COVID-19.”
The report therefore urged countries in the region to implement national policy reforms to restart progress in reducing poverty. It also advised them to step-up global cooperation.
On fiscal policy, it urged governments to avoid subsidies, increase targeted cash transfers, focus on long-term growth and mobilise domestic revenue without hurting the poor.
The report said: “Half of all spending on energy subsidies in low- and middle- income economies goes to the richest 20 percent of the population who consume more energy. Cash transfers are a far more effective mechanism for supporting poor and vulnerable groups.
