What Do I Need to Know about the Global Poverty Rate?
Statisticians are getting better at measuring the global poverty rate every year. The World Bank is one group working hard to accurately measure it so that the extent of the problem is fully known and so that progress can be measured.[1]
Through governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), we can more clearly see the last decade of progress and the most recent effects driving poverty rates. Sub-Saharan Africa has been one area difficult to measure, but new data shows an overall reduction in the percentage of those in poverty. Unfortunately, there is an increase in total number of people living at or below the official poverty rate of $1.90 per day.[2]
That doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. With good statistics and a clear view of the problem, countries and organizations can use the proven methods to regain any ground lost. Additionally, valuable lessons have been learned about how to protect the most vulnerable and how to prevent some of the worst effects.
GFA World is uniquely positioned in some of the hardest-hit areas to provide relief, ongoing support and reliable income. Through vocational training, literacy programs, and its highly successful Gift Catalog, GFA invites people worldwide to be a part of known, working solutions to poverty.
For example, the gift of a pair of chickens can be the beginning of an egg business for a woman with no other means of income. She is given the opportunity to use her own hard work to create income, a gift that lasts into the future. Likewise, if she receives literacy training, it will only strengthen her ability to develop her business and protect her assets through reading and writing. This combination through GFA can be the difference between life and death. Women and children are often the most susceptible to living at or below the poverty rate.[3]
The Gift Catalog has many levels of giving for you to consider as you read about how one goat can change a life. It may be far removed from your own reality, but it is the gift of a lifetime to a person who simply wants to provide for those she loves. Whole families are impacted by gifts through GFA.
Learn more about Global Poverty[1] R. Andres Castaneda Aguilar, Aleksander Eilertsen, Tony Fujs, Christoph Lakner, Daniel Gerszon Mahler, Minh Cong Nguyen, Marta Schoch, Samuel Kofi Tetteh Baah, Martha Viveros, Haoyu Wu, “April 2022 Global poverty update from the World Bank” World Bank. https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/april-2022-global-poverty-update-world-bank#:~:text=The%20global%20poverty%20rate%20(at,people%20between%20the%20two%20years. April 8, 2022.
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Inside the Household: Poor Children, Women, and Men.” World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/30418/9781464813306_Ch05.pdf. 2018.