WB: Target to reduce extreme poverty by 2030 will not be met

The World Bank has announced that it is unlikely that the target of ending extreme poverty by 2030 will be met. The report estimated that the number of people living in extreme poverty increased by 11 percent in 2020, reaching 719 million. The bank has published the 2022 issue of its Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report. Drawing attention to the fact that global progress in reducing extreme poverty has come to a halt, the report stated that in the absence of historically challenging economic growth rates in the next 10 years, it is unlikely that the world will reach the target of ending extreme poverty by 2030. The report noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has dealt the biggest blow to global poverty reduction efforts since 1990, and that the war in Ukraine threatens to make things even worse. The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty The report estimated that the Covid-19 pandemic pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, reporting that this was the largest annual increase since global poverty began to be monitored in 1990. 719 million people are extremely poor The report stated that the number of people living in extreme poverty is estimated to have increased by 11 percent in 2020, to 719 million. Describing 2020 as a historic turning point, the report stated that the poorest people bore the highest costs of the pandemic. The report noted that income losses were an average of 4 percent for the poorest 40 percent, while this was twice the losses of the richest 20 percent. 60 percent of the extreme poor are in Sub-Saharan Africa The World Bank report stated that, considering current trends, approximately 600 million people, most of them in Africa, will still be living on less than $2.15 a day by 2030. The report emphasized that strong fiscal policy measures have made a remarkable difference in reducing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on poverty, and reported that in the absence of fiscal intervention, the average poverty rate in developing economies could have been 2.4 points higher. The report noted that 60 percent of the extremely poor people are in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the poverty rate in the region is 35 percent. "It is understood that the target will not be achieved" World Bank President David Malpass also stated in his statement regarding the report that the economic turmoil brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent war in Ukraine reversed the ongoing progress. Malpass made the following assessment: "It is understood that the global goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 will not be achieved." David Malpass stated that adjustments in macroeconomic policies are needed to improve the distribution of global capital, support currency stability, reduce inflation and restart the increase in median income.