Goal 1 : No Poverty

No Poverty

Goal Number 1.

In the Preamble to the Goals, the UNO has made an emphatic declaration to portray its ambition towards the issue of poverty. “We are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet”. No poverty is the first of 17 Goals which seek to alleviate the problems of humanity and the planet. The UN seeks to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere”. Extreme poverty has been slashed in half since 1990. While this is a remarkable achievement, one in five people in developing regions still live on less than $1.25 a day, and there are millions more who make little more than this daily amount, plus many people risk slipping back into poverty.

Facts and Figures on Poverty

·         836 million still live in extreme poverty

·         High poverty rates are often found in small, fragile and conflict-affected countries

·         About one in five persons in developing regions lives on less than $1.25 a day

·         High poverty rates are found in small, fragile and conflict-affected countries

Targets of SDGs with respect to Poverty

The SDG on poverty (Goal 1) aims to, by 2030:

1.      Eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.

2.      Reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.

3.     Ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of 13 property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance.

4.     Build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters.

The SDG on poverty also aims to implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable. The UN will ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions. It will also encourage nations to create sound policy frameworks at the regional, national and international levels to support accelerated investment in the field of poverty eradication.

Operational tools

The United Nations has vowed to use the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund) and the United Nations Development Programme to achieve its goal of eradicating poverty, with the IMF leading the battle against poverty.

Contribution of the International Monetary Fund

Inter alia, the IMF will enhance support for developing countries in building capacity in tax policy and administration, including on international tax issues. It will also help in achieving sustainable development and poverty eradication by providing more effective support for fragile and conflict states to address their specific challenges and wide and persistent capacity building needs. It will also provide more in-depth and comprehensive advice in the field of macroeconomics and policy, to ensure environmental sustainability and enable countries to overcome large infrastructure gaps. 

Conclusion

The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN are in furtherance of the Millennium Development Goals. Poverty is an issue that the free world has been fighting with forever. To help reach the goal of eradicating poverty, each nation must play a part to ensure that this ambitious goal can be achieved.