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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

Poverty
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks in Cape Town, South Africa on Feb 11, 2020 from the balcony where, 30 years before, Nelson Mandela gave his first speech after his release from prison. The images shows the president standing next to a life-sized statue of Nelson Mandela. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham

Remembering America’s Global Connections in the Time of Coronavirus

by Sten H. Vermund, Chris Collins

Arlette Kavugho, 40, a mother of six who survived an Ebola infection stands in Katwa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on October 2, 2019 holding 16 months old Kambale Eloge, whose mother died of Ebola. Photo shows Arlette holding the baby in front of a clinic while two other health workers stand in the background. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
Poverty

Tentative Victory Against Ebola in Eastern Congo

by John Campbell

Success against Ebola through quarantines, contact-tracing, and good hygiene bodes well for future response to COVID-19

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
Poverty

Rethinking Ways to Address Child Growth Failure

by Simon I. Hay, Tim Exton

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