header background

Poverty

The link between poverty and premature death and disability has been long evident, but the definition of who is poor and the global distribution of the extremely poor are changing. Today there are fewer poor and fragile states and most of poor people live in stable, middle-income nations. This section examines the ways in which ill-health and poverty are now interacting and reinforcing each other.

Poverty

$1.90

World Bank threshold per diem for extreme poverty

World Bank threshold per diem for extreme poverty World Bank threshold per diem for extreme poverty

6 of 10

Extremely poor people are in middle-income nations

Extremely poor people are in middle-income nations Extremely poor people are in middle-income nations

1.9 B

Billion people living in extreme poverty, 1990

Billion people living in extreme poverty, 1990 Billion people living in extreme poverty, 1990

589 M

Number of people living in extreme poverty, 2019

Number of people living in extreme poverty, 2019 Number of people living in extreme poverty, 2019

Featured

Poverty
A 3-year-old boy named Eduardo holding father Luis’s hand on Nov. 7, 2018. Both are from Central America, where progress toward reducing stunting in children under 5 has been particularly noticeable. Picture shows Eduardo looking up pensively at his father at they walk along a road in what appears to be dusk or pre-dawn dim light. Luis is off-camera and only his arm visible. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Rethinking Ways to Address Child Growth Failure
by Simon I. Hay, Tim Exton - February 22, 2020

Precision health mapping of regional and local targets would help steer limited resources to the places of greatest need

Poverty
Peter Salama visits a makeshift school at Kule Camp in the Gambella region of Ethiopia on August 12, 2014, when he was the Country Representative of UNICEF Ethiopia. Picture shows Dr. Salama wearing a blue hat talking to several boys in a classroom. They are all smiling. UNICEF/Jiro Ose/UNI170605

A Tribute to Peter Salama, a Champion of People in Fragile States and War-Torn Places

by Richard Brennan, David Nabarro

Original director of WHO Health Emergencies Program, he fought against Ebola and for Universal Health Coverage worldwide

Poverty
Two ends of the age spectrum: Thenjiwe Madzinga, 66, and grandson Thina Gxotelwa in a small room they share in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township on Feb. 23, 2010. Madzinga cares for five grandchildren. Picture shows the pair sitting on a bed in a small room with bright green walls. She is looking lovingly at him, and he is looking at her and smiling, perhaps embarrassed at the camera. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly

Universal Health Coverage—A Citizens’ Guide to Benefits

by Ruth E. Levine

Realizing this high-level UN priority in low-income settings will demand evidence-based decisions and grass-roots action

Latest

An aerial view of the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on March 26, 2020—during the ongoing crisis over the coronavirus pandemic. The photo is a gorgeous shot taken from the sky showing the slums cascading down the mountain to the coast, which is dotted with modern skyscrapers, and the ocean beyond. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
Poverty

Untrained Drug Sellers Replacing Doctors—A Challenge for COVID-19

by Mishal S. Khan

Success controlling COVID-19 in lower-income countries will depend on implementing strategies appropriate to those areas

Traders sit near a deserted crossing point between Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus on March 23, 2020. The photo shows a number of women sitting in front of a storefront painted blue and adorned by a large cartoon figure of a cow giving a thumb's up. REUTERS/Olivia Acland
Poverty

Epidemics and Infodemics in the Post-Truth Era, from Ebola to COVID-19

by Sonya Stokes

Social media can be a powerful weapon in the post-truth era. Or it can be a catalyst for the next global health disaster

A student washes her hands after clean up at a school in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic in Abuja, Nigeria on March 20, 2020. The photo shows a pair of hands actively lathering under a water tap against a blue background. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
Poverty

Where WASH Figures in the COVID-19 Fight

by Katherine E. Bliss, Tanvi Nagpal

Hard-sought health security in sub-Saharan Africa should build on WASH programs, which are already proven to save lives