Ending Extreme Poverty: a Focus on Children
The world is facing an ambitious target: to end extreme poverty by 2030. This vision is central to the work of the World Bank Group and UNICEF, and the entire international community. Now urgent action is needed to achieve it.
Data will play a crucial role. The World Bank Group has just released its frst annual report that focuses specifcally on global progress to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. It found that progress has been impressive, with nearly 1.1 billion people escaping extreme poverty since 1990. However, far too many people still live on far too little - some 767 million people were living in extreme poverty, on less than $1.90 per day, in 2013.
To change this, we need more and better information about who is affected, and deliberate policy action. Without accurate statistics and careful analysis, we cannot gauge the extent of the problem, know how or where to accelerate efforts, or measure the success of efforts to end extreme poverty.