Goal 1: NO POVERTY will be in the focus of project partner LatConsul.

No poverty is the number one goal according to the United Nations Development Programme. Eradicating poverty in all its forms remains one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. While the number of people living in extreme poverty dropped by more than half between 1990 and 2015 – from 1.9 billion to 836 million – too many are still struggling for the most basic human needs. Globally, more than 800 million people are still living on less than 1.15 EUR a day, many lacking access to adequate food, clean drinking water and sanitation.

Rapid economic growth in some countries has lifted millions out of poverty, but progress has been uneven. Women are more likely to live in poverty than men due to unequal access to paid work, education and property. New threats brought on by climate change, conflict and food insecurity, mean that even more work is needed to bring people out of poverty.

Goal 1 calls for an end to poverty in all its manifestations by 2030. It also aims to ensure social protection for the poor and vulnerable, increase access to basic services and support people harmed by climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters.

Expanding social protection programmes and targeting appropriate schemes to the poor and most vulnerable can further reduce poverty. Social protection programmes include social assistance, such as cash transfers, school feeding and targeted food assistance, as well as social insurance and labour market programmes, including old-age pensions, disability pensions, unemployment insurance, skills training and wage subsidies, among others.

Social protections have expanded globally since 2000, as many developing countries adopted policies that afford protection for multiple contingencies. Pension coverage in particular is expanding rapidly. Over half (51 per cent) of people above retirement age received a pension according to data available for the period from 2010 to 2012. Almost all countries have child or maternity benefit programmes, and cash transfer schemes are increasing.

Despite progress over the past decade, increasing social protection for those most in need remains a priority. Globally, 18,000 children still die each day from poverty-related causes, and only 28 per cent of employed women are effectively protected through contributory and non-contributory maternity cash benefits. Most poor people remain outside social protection systems, especially in low-income countries. Of the entire population, only 1 out of 5 receive any type of social protection in low-income countries, compared with 2 out of 3 in upper-middle-income countries. The coverage gap is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, where most of the world’s poorest people live. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 15 per cent of those in the bottom income quintile have access to a social protection benefit.

Disaster risk reduction is essential to ending poverty and fostering sustainable development. Disaster risk is disproportionally higher in poorer countries with weaker institutions. In low- and lower-middle-income countries experiencing rapid economic growth, the exposure of people and assets to natural hazards is increasing at a faster pace than that at which risk-reducing capacities are being strengthened, leading to increased disaster risk.

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