The world’s most deprived: characteristics and causes of extreme poverty and hunger

Despite considerable progress in poverty reduction in the past decade, millions of people around the world remain preoccupied solely with survival, and hunger is a reality in their everyday lives. This paper examines the first Millennium Development Goal, the halving of poverty and hunger, and explores the characteristics of those who are likely to be left behind.

The paper finds that while remarkable progress has been made in some regions (notably East Asia and the Pacific), progress has been slow in regions where poverty and hunger are severe. As a result, the first MDG goal seems far out of reach for most of Sub-Saharan Africa. The report also finds that within regions, poverty just below $1 a day has fallen faster than poverty below 50 cents a day. This suggests it has been easier to reach those living closer to the dollar-a-day line rather than those living well below it.

The report is organised as follows:

• an examination of where the poor and hungry live, including country rankings and trends in poverty and hunger
• a presentation of findings based on the analysis of household survey data on the incidence and correlates of extreme poverty and hunger
• a summary of the major causes of persistent poverty and hunger including the role of culture, gender, disability, remoteness, and repeated shocks

The paper concludes that the slow progress in reducing ultra poverty and the relative lack of success in reaching the very poorest clearly demonstrate that “business as usual” will not be good enough to reach the poorest within an acceptable timeframe. It argues that the international community cannot be content to focus only on the marginally poor and hungry.

To help the poorest move out of poverty, the authors argue that interventions must focus on:

• improving access to markets and basic services for those in the most remote rural areas
• providing insurance to help households deal with health crises
• preventing child malnutrition
• enabling investment in education and physical capital for those with few assets
• addressing the exclusion of disadvantaged groups