Getting back on track to meet the first Sustainable Development Goal

Almost 10 years ago, countries worldwide adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 targets for the global community to achieve by 2030 to ensure peace and prosperity for current and future generations. The first of these goals, SDG 1, calls for an end to poverty in all its forms everywhere.

While much progress has been made to reduce global poverty, the hard truth is we are not on track to meet this goal. Following decades of declining global poverty, the pace of reduction began to slow down around 2015, in tandem with tepid economic growth. During 2020-2022, there were severe setbacks in poverty reduction as countries reeled from overlapping crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate shocks, high debt, and fragility and conflict.

In 2022, around 712 million people were living in extreme poverty, on less than $2.15 per day, the poverty line for low-income countries. Poverty also remains a serious challenge in many middle-income countries. In 2022, 3.6 billion people, nearly half the global population, were living on less than $6.85 per day, the poverty line for upper-middle-income countries.

But poverty is not just about a lack of income. Millions of people are deprived daily of their essential needs, such as access to health care, education, housing, water, or electricity, thereby also denied their dignity.

With our current pace of progress, almost 600 million people—around 7 percent of the world’s population—will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa or fragile and conflict-affected places. At this rate, it could take over three decades to eradicate extreme poverty.

It’s not too late to change course. While economic growth is important to getting back on track, it alone will not guarantee that people are lifted out of poverty. This growth must also be more inclusive and sustainable. The foundation of inclusive growth is an investment in people, which means ensuring they have greater access to health care, education, social services, basic infrastructure, better-quality jobs, and opportunities.

Countries must expand opportunities for people living in poverty to earn higher incomes and contribute more proactively to the economy and lift the constraints poor households face in accumulating natural, financial, and other assets. This is especially true for those living at the bottom of the income ladder.

Countries also need fiscal policies that work for everyone. Fiscal policies can be reformed by shifting public spending away from inefficient subsidies towards more targeted policies that support poor and vulnerable households. If well designed, fiscal systems can protect households from falling back into poverty during a crisis or shock.

Poverty reduction will only be sustainable, however, if combined with effective climate action. Many people living in poverty are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, such as floods, cyclones or droughts, which are growing in both frequency and intensity. Yet these people have contributed the least to the global emissions that are fueling these occurrences. Countries should focus on “double-win” or “triple-win” policies, which not only improve the livelihoods of people living in poverty but also decrease their vulnerability to climate risks and help mitigate future climate hazards.

There is still time to correct course, but the multiple intertwined global challenges we are facing demand a different approach to move forward. This requires us to all work together, including governments, civil society, international organizations, the private sector, and citizens. We need ambitious domestic policies that prioritize poverty reduction, especially where it is most entrenched, combined with support from the international community to help make these goals a reality.

This joint action also includes boosting long-term financing. Amid high debt and limited fiscal space, low-income countries face severe constraints in their ability to invest in essential areas such as education, health care and infrastructure, all of which are key for sustained poverty reduction. Official Development Assistance from high-income countries is critical for financing the development goals of low-income countries, and donors should therefore deliver on their long-standing commitments.

Multilateral and development institutions, including the World Bank Group, can leverage this financing to secure even more resources. One of the best examples of this catalyzing power is our International Development Association, which is working to replenish its resources this year so we can continue to provide critical support to low-income countries to combat poverty and other pressing development challenges.

We must remain optimistic and focused on developing effective and innovative solutions. That’s why an international group of development experts met a few months ago to explore practical ways to jumpstart progress toward eradicating poverty. Their recommendations are being presented at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, currently underway in New York City, where ministers and representatives from countries around the world will discuss how to reinforce the 2030 agenda.

We don’t have time to waste. We must step up global action to spur stronger, more inclusive, and more sustainable growth that can help us get back on track to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet.