World to miss SDG goals on poverty and better-quality life: UNU-WIDER study

The decline in poverty is expected to be slower than earlier estimated, with over 600 million people facing extreme poverty by 2030, according to a paper by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER).

The paper highlights that the gains made during the pre-pandemic period may also erode, with an undernourished population of 665 million.

“The number of undernourished people will be higher than pre-COVID and, in fact, higher than in 2015 when the SDGs were agreed upon,” the study pointed. The SDGs target a scenario with no extreme poverty and the elimination of undernourishment by 2030.


The paper further noted slow progress in terms of maternal and infant mortality rates, along with access to safe water and sanitation.

“We also project that more than one in five children will be stunted and, although under-five mortality and maternal mortality will improve, the progress will be slow,” it said.

One in ten people will lack access to safe water, whereas one in five will not have access to basic sanitation.

The SDGs posit full coverage for both indicators.

While India has made gains in poverty reduction, as per the National Multidimensional Poverty Index report, 135 million exited poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21; the paper highlighted that South Asia, which also consists of India, will have a sizeable proportion of poor population.

“We can see that extreme monetary poverty will be dominated by Sub-Saharan Africa in 2030, although South Asia will still have a sizeable proportion,” it said.

The authors suggested that economic growth was not enough to address concerns on poverty, and the countries needed to focus on inclusive growth.

‘The international community further needs to consider debt relief and alternative financial revenues for developing economies as this will be critical for expanding their capacity to implement effective poverty-alleviating policies,’ said Arief Yusuf, one of the authors of the study.

Kunal Sen, Director, UNU-WIDER, argued that there was also a need for a reassessment of the progress made post-pandemic.

“We have lacked data and research on the projections of the SDGs post-pandemic, and given the incredible impact the pandemic had to global poverty rates, it is essential we review where we are and how we move ahead on these goals,” he said.