International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

The theme of this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty – Acting together to achieve social and environmental justice for all – is extremely pertinent in the era of COVID-19. The poorest have the highest risk of exposure to the virus and they have the least access to quality healthcare. And people living in conflict zones still face the most severe threats of hunger and even famine amid COVID-19. In the wake of the pandemic, global extreme poverty is expected to rise for the first time in over 20 years while an additional 115 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty this year.

The pandemic is having a marked effect on workers in developing countries, where seven out of ten of them make a living through informal markets – many of them simply cannot earn a livelihood if they cannot leave their home due to lockdowns. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has estimated that the introduction of a Temporary Basic Income for 2.7 billion people living below or just above the poverty line, could halt the COVID-19 surge in an era when half the world lacks social protection and healthcare.