The end of extreme poverty

With the combined efforts of many other organisations, we are committed at Good Return to ending extreme poverty by 2030.

Truly.

We mean it.

It is not a marketing catchword or auto-suggestion therapy. It’s not a senseless motto. It’s a scenario that’s truly within our reach and we have never been so close. And I am convinced we will succeed - we just have to work at it together.

I know how hard it is to imagine a world without extreme poverty. And frankly speaking, I can’t wait for the time we can sit back and raise a toast to this wonderful achievement. Despite all doubts, the trend is very clear: extreme poverty (as define as those living with less than $1.90 per day) is declining rapidly. Today, less than 10% of the world population lives in extreme poverty, to be compared to 25% in 2002 or 40% in 1984 - showing a rather a spectacular step forward.

Unfortunately, enthusiasm and good intentions aren’t enough. We still have a long battle ahead of us - over 600 million people are still living with less than $1.90 per day - and we need to stay focused.

Learning…

First of all, we have heaps of studies.

Accepting the reality of what is working and what isn’t is a vital point. We need to measure impact, and then collect and put into practice those learnings. Thanks to quality evaluation tools and a general use of randomized control trials (RCTs), we are able to get a good understanding of a program’s impact among populations. We can compare the efficiency of different approaches, helping us to face reality instead of being misled by our own misconceptions. Without objectively assessing the outcomes and comparing them, unconditional cash transfers or other innovative programs would be caught in a battle of pros and cons without end. Using  RCTs we can have impact evidence that encourages further exploration. We will win the battle only if we prioritise efficiency over opinion.

For that, we need to be more rational and less emotional. Development is often emotional (and we understand why) but there comes a time when it shouldn’t be. Emotion will not do any good - a rational approach will.

…+ innovation

A second reason for being optimistic is the level of innovation we can see in the development sector.  Innovation is advancing every day - ideas like usage of open currencies or basic universal income - are ready for experimentation. The best is yet to come and if we apply a rational mind to these experiments, and if we successfully measure their impact, we will have powerful new tools to boost the fight against poverty.

At Good Return, our part in the battle is to remove the obstacles that stand between the most disadvantaged and financial empowerment. These barriers have multiple aspects, sometimes technical (the need for better designed pro-poor services) and sometimes social or psychological (money can be a touchy matter, especially when it’s lacking). And of course, Good Return has a strong focus on women - because poverty does too.

So let’s keep fighting and increase the trend to eradicate extreme poverty. Let’s continue to understand our impact and to improve the efficiency of our projects, and we will get there.