Poverty

COVID-19 Update – The coronavirus pandemic has been having a devastating impact on global poverty: people sick or at risk have been unable to work and due to border closures, market disruptions, or preventive measures, many businesses have been unable to obtain supplies or to retain their clients, which means many families are having to live with sharply reduced and very precarious incomes. As a result, a publication by the United Nations University estimates that “globally the number of people living below US$1.90 per day could increase by 68 million in 2020 alone” and the World Bank forecasts that “COVID-19 could push 71 million people into extreme poverty in 2020” (see https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/covid-19-and-global-poverty and https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/projected-poverty-impacts-of-COVID-19).

Poverty is a concept that is much more complicated to analyze and measure than can intuitively be imagined. are possible. in particular has specific characteristics that warrant a multidimensional approach. When these specific characteristics are analysed, we can obtain of the households that live in acute poverty. appear to show positive developments and a convergence in the analytical tools used to study poverty. These methodological preoccupations can appear somewhat dry and the reader may wish at any point to move directly to more concrete avenues to fight poverty in the areas of health, education and economic opportunity. Beyond methodological or sectoral considerations, the provision of by countries like Canada remains a critical ingredient for success.