Ending Extreme Poverty

A long, hard look at the history of economic growth around the world over the last 1000 years shows that extreme poverty is (unfortunately) the natural state of humanity in the absence of economic growth. However, as economic growth pushes into the furthest corners of our planet and through ideological barriers, extreme poverty rates have been plummeting everywhere.

Since I graduated from university in 1982, extreme poverty rates have continued to fall as economic growth continues its march forward.

And since 2015, even with the awful effects of COVID-19 on extreme poverty rates, we continue to push downward, although it seems very unlikely we will end extreme poverty now by 2030.

So, is it possible to end extreme poverty? We have been ending extreme poverty! But going forward to finish the job requires that we be more precise with our data. Where EXACTLY do the extreme poor live? According to the World Bank, 80% of the extreme poor live in the countryside, and 67% are smallholder farmers.

So, if we want to end extreme poverty, we need to change the question to, "How do we help smallholder farmers earn a lot more money in agriculture?" Do we know how to do that? Does World Vision know how to do that? Oh yes, we do!

IS IT POSSIBLE TO END POVERTY? (worldvisionphilanthropy.org)