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View all search resultsFighting poverty must not stop
Combating poverty is not just a moral imperative, it is also crucial for economic stability, conflict prevention and long-term development.
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A resident harvests okra pods on April 9 from a crop on a communal patch of land where villagers from Milore village grow food crops due to its proximity to a nearby dam in Kilifi County, Kenya. (AFP/Tony Karumba)
F
aced with a slowing global economy and rising debts, many developing-country governments may be tempted to scale back anti-poverty programs. That would be a grave mistake. Combating poverty is not just a moral imperative, it is also crucial for economic stability, conflict prevention and long-term development.
Recent research supports the economic case for reducing poverty, showing that a 10-percentage-point decrease in poverty rates can raise per capita growth by up to 1.2 percent annually. For countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Paraguay, that would mean an increase of 25 percent or more in annual per capita growth.
Moreover, the experience of countries across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrates that meaningful poverty reduction can be achieved even under severe budget constraints. To this end, governments must focus on three key areas.
The first is energy. Expanding access to affordable electricity is essential for manufacturing and agriculture, and thus for the sustainable growth required to reduce poverty. A major step forward in this regard is Mission 300, a groundbreaking initiative led by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) that aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
The second priority is investing in human capital. Studies have consistently shown that investments in early childhood programs, quality education and accessible health care generate high returns. In Jamaica, for example, early interventions increased mid-career incomes by 37 percent, according to a 2021 study. Similarly, a 2024 World Food Program study found that school nutrition programs can produce up to US$9 in cross-sector benefits for every dollar of investment. Notably, Kenya’s Home-Grown School Feeding Program, which links education, nutrition and local agriculture, has boosted school attendance, improved health outcomes and enhanced students’ long-term earnings potential.
Lastly, investing in large-scale cross-border infrastructure can accelerate economic integration, create job opportunities, and sharply reduce poverty. The $15.6 billion Abidjan-Lagos Super-Corridor, which connects five West African countries with a combined population of 330 million, will cover 75 percent of the volume of West Africa by 2030. Similar projects include a proposed $531 million corridor linking the DRC, the Central African Republic, and Chad, and the $576 million AfDB-funded Nacala Road Corridor, which is already benefiting more than two million people in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
While these strategies are cost-effective, scaling them up requires increased financing at a time when public budgets around the world are under growing strain. A hybrid capital instrument based on the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs, the IMF’s reserve asset), developed by the AfDB and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), offers a promising solution.
