Eradicating Poverty: Is COVID-19 Undoing the Progress Made?

17 October has been designated by the UN as International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. From 1990 to 2019, the number of extreme poor, those who subsist on less than USD 1.90 per day, fell from 36% of the world population to 8%: a result worth celebrating. But is the COVID-19 pandemic undoing some of this progress? For the first time since the end of the 1990s, the number of extreme poor is rising, potentially very fast. The big questions at this point are: How many people will slip back into poverty because of the current crisis? How can people be protected against falling (back) into poverty? What might the long-lasting effects of the crisis be, and how can these be precluded?

At this GIGA Talk, renowned international experts will reflect on past and current changes in poverty status around the world. A central aspect will be the question of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting, and will continue to affect, poverty in different world regions, along with what can and should be done – both locally and internationally – in order to cushion the effects of this crisis.

Speakers: Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven is Managing Director of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Prof. Dr. Francisco Ferreira is Amartya Sen Professor of Inequality Studies at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Dr. Isis Gaddis is Senior Economist at the World Bank, Washington DC.

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Renate Hartwig is Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs.