Measuring poverty
Chronic poverty report 2004-2005
Without targeted support, Millennium Development Goals may bypass the chronically poor
Authors:
; Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC)
Publisher:
Chronic Poverty Research Centre, UK, 2004
This major report from the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC) examines what chronic poverty is and why it matters, who the chronically poor are, where they live, what causes poverty to be persistent and what should be done about it. A section of regional perspectives looks at the experience of chronic poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, transitional countries and China. A statistical appendix brings together data on global trends on chronic poverty, estimating that the number of people trapped in chronic poverty is between 300 and 420 million people, with South Asia accounting for 44 per cent of the figure and Sub-Saharan Africa for 29 per cent.
The report highlights that people in chronic poverty will make up the majority of the 900 million people still in poverty in 2015 even if the Millennium Development Goals are met. It argues that they need targeted support, social assistance and social protection, and political action that confronts exclusion. The authors call for a policy framework that prioritises livelihood security for all, puts more chronically poor people in a position where they can take up opportunities, takes empowerment seriously and recognises obligations to provide resources. Chronic poverty will not be seriously reduced without real transfers of resources and sustained, predictable finance. [adapted from author]
