Sustainable Development Goals 1 : Ending Poverty

 End poverty in all its forms everywhere

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has stopped most of the progress achieved in lowering poverty, with worldwide severe poverty growing in 2020 for the first time since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. The world was not on pace to fulfil the objective of eradicating poverty by 2030 even before COVID-19, and it will stay out of reach without quick and dramatic action. The crisis has highlighted the significance of catastrophe preparedness and strong social safety nets more than ever before. While the number of nations with catastrophe risk reduction policies has grown significantly, and numerous temporary social protection measures have been implemented in response to the pandemic, more efforts are needed on both fronts to guarantee that the most vulnerable are protected.

The effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on extreme poverty

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of the world's population living in severe poverty has decreased from 10% in 2015 to 9.3% in 2017. The number of individuals living on less than $1.90 per day has decreased from 741 million to 689 million. However, between 2015 and 2017, the rate of decline reduced to less than half a percentage point per year, compared to one percentage point per year between 1990 and 2015.

The epidemic has added to the dangers of conflict and climate change to progress. According to estimates, the global poor would expand by 119 million to 124 million by 2020, with 60% of them living in Southern Asia. According to forecasts, the severe poverty rate would climb for the first time since 1998, from 8.4% in 2019 to 9.5 per cent in 2020, reversing the gains made since 2016. The pandemic's effects will last a long time. According to current forecasts, the global poverty rate will be 7% (approximately 600 million people) in 2030, falling short of the goal of eliminating poverty.

The action from the government to reduce poverty: A new social protection measures in place.

Social protection measures are critical for avoiding and eliminating poverty throughout one's life. Despite this, just 46.9% of the world population was covered by at least one social protection cash benefit by 2020, leaving up to 4 billion individuals without a social safety net. The COVID-19 issue has highlighted the necessity of social protection systems in protecting people's health, employment, and incomes, as well as the negative repercussions of large coverage gaps. As a result, several additional social protection measures were announced in 2020: between 1 February and 31 December, the governments of 209 nations and territories announced nearly 1,600 such measures in reaction to the crisis, but virtually all (94.7%) were temporary. 

Due to the pandemic, the majority of the population in high-income nations (85.4%) was effectively covered by at least one social security benefit, compared to a little over a tenth (13.4%) in low-income countries. The coverage gap is much wider among the most disadvantaged, with just 7.8% of individuals in low-income nations receiving social assistance.