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Goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 out of reach: World Bank

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A resident uses plastic sacks and scrap wood as he strengthens a shanty to help make it withstand the storms in Baseco Community in Tondo Manila on June 11, 2021. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/05/20210611-baseco-informal-settler-jc-8.jpg"/><figcaption>A resident uses plastic sacks and scrap wood as he strengthens a shanty to help make it withstand the storms in Baseco Community in Tondo Manila on June 11, 2021.<em> Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>COVID-19 has dealt the &quot;biggest setback&quot; to global poverty reduction efforts in decades, and the World Bank warned Wednesday that the goal to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030 likely remains out of reach.</p><p>Poverty rose sharply during the pandemic, and the development lender estimates about 70 million people were pushed into extreme poverty in 2020, the biggest one-year spike since monitoring began in 1990.</p><p>The report offers the first tally of those struggling to live on less than $2.15 a day, the new global definition of extreme poverty, but follows many warnings from the global development lender that poorer nations are being left behind.</p><p>Earlier this year the institution warned that as many 95 million people would fall back into extreme poverty by the end of this year.</p><p>War in Ukraine, rising inflation and slowing global growth have put further pressure on the bank&#x27;s mission to lift people out of poverty.</p><p>&quot;Inflation, currency depreciations, and broader overlapping crises&quot; point to a grim outlook, World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement.</p><p>&quot;Progress in reducing extreme poverty has essentially halted in tandem with subdued global economic growth,&quot; he said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/24/22/poorest-ph-families-hit-harder-by-covid-compared-to-asian-peers">Poorest families in PH hit harder by COVID-19 compared to Asian peers: ADB</a></li></ul><p>Global extreme poverty had fallen to 8.4 percent by 2019 from 38 percent in 1990, but the pandemic triggered the first rise in more than two decades.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/03/22/palace-on-sws-survey-poverty-down-to-single-digit-by-2028">Palace: Marcos gov&#x27;t committed to reducing poverty to single-digit by 2028</a></li></ul><p>Amid the setbacks the report projects global extreme poverty rate for 2030 will only fall to seven percent, or nearly 600 million people.</p><p>Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 60 percent of all people in extreme poverty, according to the bank, and history-defying growth rates for the rest of the decade would be needed to hit poverty reduction targets.</p><p>While wealthy countries generally had the resources to cushion the economic blow from the pandemic, this was not the case for developing economies.</p><p>Income losses of the world&#x27;s poorest countries were twice as high as in their richer counterparts, causing global inequality to rise for the first time in decades, the report said.</p><p>&quot;Over the next decade, investing in better health and education will be crucial for developing economies,&quot; said World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill.</p><p>Governments should favor targeted cash transfers over broad subsidies to support poor and vulnerable groups, the World Bank added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/16/22/think-tank-blames-harsh-overlong-lockdowns-for-rising-poverty">Think-tank blames &#x27;harsh, overlong&#x27; lockdowns for rising poverty</a></li></ul><p>It also urged for measures like property and carbon taxes which can raise revenue without hurting the poorest.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2227363" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Earlier this year the World Bank warned that as many 95 million people would fall back into extreme poverty by the end of this year.