GOAL 1: ErAdICAtE

EXtrEmE POVErtY ANd HUNgEr

|7

New poverty estimates from the World Bank have conrmed last years nding that the world reached the MDG target ve years ahead of the 2015 deadline. In developing regions, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 47 per cent in 1990 to 22 per cent in 2010. About 700 million fewer people lived in conditions of extreme poverty in 2010 than in 1990. Extreme poverty rates have fallen in every developing region, with one country, China, leading the way. In China, extreme poverty dropped from 60 per cent in 1990 to 16 per cent in 2005 and 12 per cent in 2010. Poverty remains widespread in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, although progress in the latter region has been substantial. In Southern Asia, poverty rates fell by an average of one percentage point annuallyfrom 51 per cent in 1990 to 30 per cent two decades later. In contrast, the poverty rate in sub-Saharan Africa fell only 8 percentage points over the same period. Despite this impressive achievement at the global level, 1.2 billion people are still living in extreme poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost half the population live on less than $1.25 a day. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region that saw the number of people living in extreme poverty rise steadily, from 290 million in 1990 to 414 million in 2010, accounting for more than a third of people worldwide who are destitute. The World Bank projects that, by 2015, about 970 million people will still be living on less than $1.25 a day in countries classied as low- or middle-income in 1990. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia will each be home to about 40 per cent of the developing world population living in extreme poverty. Around the world, abject poverty is found in areas where poor health and lack of education deprive people of productive employment; environmental resources have been depleted or spoiled; and corruption, conict and bad governance waste public resources and discourage private investment. The international community now needs to take the next steps to continue the ght against poverty at all these various levels.

Challenges in monitoring poverty hamper effective policymaking

Measuring poverty continues to be a barrier to effective policymaking. In many countries, the availability, frequency and quality of poverty monitoring data remain low, especially in small states and in countries and territories in fragile situations. The 2010 estimates included in this report are still provisional due to the limited availability of data from national household surveys collected between 2008 and 2012, particularly in sub-Saharan and Northern Africa. Institutional, political and nancial obstacles hamper data collection, analysis and public access. The need to improve household survey programmes to monitor poverty in these countries is urgent.

8 | THE MILLENNIUm DEVELOPmENt GOALS REPOrt 2013

TARGEt 1.B
Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people

The slowing of economic growth spells continued job losses, with young people bearing the brunt of the crisis
Employment-to-population ratio, 2007 and 2012* (Percentage)
Northern Africa 43 43 43 45 56 54 57 59 Latin America & the Carbbean 61 62 64 64 66 67 68 68 72 70 57 55 63 62 30 2012* 40 50 60 70 80

labour force participation and rising unemployment. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), unemployment has increased by 28 million since 2007, and an estimated 39 million people have dropped out of the labour market, leaving a 67 million jobs gap as a result of the global economic and nancial crisis. From 2007 to 2012, the developed regions registered a 1.7 percentage point drop in the employment-topopulation ratio. Over the same period, the developing regions experienced a decline of 0.9 percentage points. Within this group, the largest declines were found in Southern Asia and Eastern Asia, which saw drops in the employment-to-population ratio of 2.1 and 1.5 percentage points, respectively.
Employment-to-population ratio, women and men, 2012* (Percentage)
Northern Africa 18 68 Western Asia 20 68 Southern Asia 30 78 Latin America & the Caribbean 49 75 Caucasus & Central Asia 50 68 South-Eastern Asia 56 79 Sub-Saharan Africa 58 71 Oceania 64 73 Eastern Asia 64 76 Developed regions 49 62 Developing regions 48 75 World 48 73 0 10 20 30 Men 40 50 60 70 80 90

Western Asia

Southern Asia

Caucasus & Central Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

South-Eastern Asia

Oceania

Eastern Asia

Developed regions

Developing regions

10 2007

20

* Data for 2012 are preliminary estimates.

During 2012, global economic growth slowed even further, substantially weakening the employmentgenerating capacity of national economies. The global ratio of employment to the working-age population declined from 61.3 per cent in 2007 to 60.3 in 2012, after a moderate increase from 2003 to 2007. The top two contributors to the decline in the ratio are falling

Women

* Data for 2012 are preliminary estimates.

GOAL 1: ErAdICAtE

EXtrEmE POVErtY ANd HUNgEr

|9

The gender gap in employment persists, with a 24.8 percentage point difference between men and women in the employment-to-population ratio in 2012. The gap is most acute in Northern Africa, Southern Asia and Western Asia, where women are far less likely to be employed than their male counterparts. The differences in the employment-to-population ratio between men and women in these three regions approached 50 percentage points in 2012.

Young people have borne the brunt of the crisis. Negative labour market trends for youth accounted for 41 per cent of the decline in the global employmentto-population ratio since 2007, due to rising unemployment and falling participation.

Though working poverty has declined, over 60 per cent of workers in the developing world still live on less than $4 a day
Employment by economic class, developing regions, 1991, 2001 and 2011 (Percentage of total employment)
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1991 2001 Developing regions Extremely poor (<$1.25) Near poor ($2 & <$4) Developed middle class and above ($13) * Data for 2011 are preliminary estimates. 2011* 1991 2001 2011* 1991 2001 Eastern Asia 2011* Developing regions excluding Eastern Asia Moderately poor ($1.25 & <$2) Developing middle class ($4 & <$13)

The number of workers living in extreme poverty has declined dramatically over the past decadedespite the global nancial crisis. Since 2001, the number of workers living with their families on less than $1.25 a day has declined by 294 million, leaving a total of 384 million below this threshold classied as the working poor. In developing regions, the working poor constituted 15.1 per cent of the employed labour force in 2012, down from 32.3 per cent in 2001 and 48.2 per cent in 1991. For the rst time, the ILO has broken down employment statistics into ve economic classes. The

new estimates show that, in addition to the workers that are extremely poor, 19.6 per cent of workers and their families are moderately poorliving on $1.25 to $2 a dayand 26.2 per cent of workers are near poor, living on $2 to $4 a day. Altogether, 60.9 per cent of the developing worlds workforce remained poor or near poor in 2011, living on less than $4 a day. These gures underscore the urgent need to improve productivity, promote sustainable structural transformation and expand social protection systems to ensure basic social services for the poor and most vulnerable workers and their families.

10 | THE MILLENNIUm DEVELOPmENt GOALS REPOrt 2013

TARGEt 1.C
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

Proportion of people who are undernourished, 1990-1992 and 2010-2012 (Percentage)

Sub-Saharan Africa 27 32

The hunger reduction target is within reach if recent slowdowns in progress can be reversed
Number and proportion of people in the developing regions who are undernourished 1990-2012
Millions 1 000 950 900 850 800 750 Percentage 25 20 15 10 5 0

Southern Asia 18 Oceania 12 Eastern Asia 12 South-Eastern Asia 11 Western Asia 7 10 Latin America & the Caribbean 15 8 Caucasus & Central Asia 7 Northern Africa 4 3 Developed regions 2 1 Developing regions 15 23 10 15 20 14 21 14

27

30

According to new estimates, about 870 million people, or one in eight worldwide, did not consume enough food on a regular basis to cover their minimum dietary energy requirements over the period 2010 to 2012. The vast majority of the chronically undernourished (852 million) reside in developing countries. While their numbers remain disturbingly high, the proportion of undernourished people in developing regions has decreased from 23.2 per cent in 1990 1992 to 14.9 per cent in 20102012. This suggests that progress in reducing hunger has been more pronounced than previously believed, and that the target of halving the percentage of people suffering from hunger by 2015 is within reach. Contrary to earlier predictions, chronic hunger rates did not spike during the 20072009 food price and economic crises. However, the nancial situation of poor families has undoubtedly worsened in many countries, and progress against hunger has slowed signicantly. Purposeful and coordinated action by national governments and international partners is needed to reverse recent trends.

092 19 93 -9 5 19 96 -9 8 19 99 -0 1 20 02 -0 4 20 05 -0 7 20 07 -0 9 20 10 -12 20 15
Number of undernourished people Proportion of undernourished people 2015 Target

19 9

5 1990-1992

25 2015 Target

30

35

2010-2012

Disparities remain large in the rate of reduction in undernourishment among regions and countries. Progress has been relatively swift in South-Eastern Asia, Eastern Asia, the Caucaus and Central Asia and in Latin America. However, the pace of change in the Caribbean, Southern Asia and, especially, sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania appears to be too slow to meet the MDG target. Western Asia is the only region that has seen a rise in the prevalence of undernourishment from 19901992 to 20102012. Behind these regional disparities are vastly different levels of vulnerability and markedly different capacities to deal with economic shocks, such as food price increases and economic recessions.

GOAL 1: ErAdICAtE

EXtrEmE POVErtY ANd HUNgEr

|11

Poverty is among the main determinants of hunger and inadequate access to food. Poor households generally spend large portions of their incomes on food and most of them, including many small-holder farmers, are net food buyers. The inability to consume enough food, in turn, affects labour productivity and the ability of the undernourished to generate income, thus reinforcing the poverty trap.

More than 100 million children under age ve are still undernourished and underweight
Proportion of children under age ve who are moderately or severely underweight, 1990 and 2011 (Percentage)
Southern Asia 50 31 Sub-Saharan Africa 21 South-Eastern Asia 17 Oceania 14 Northern Africa 10 5 Western Asia 5 Caucasus & Central Asia 14 4 Eastern Asia 3 Latin America & the Caribbean 7 3 World 16 0 20 40 2015 Target 60 25 15 15 19 31 29

Methods to assess hunger and food security are improving

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has introduced a number of signicant improvements in the methodology it uses to measure the prevalence of hunger. Despite these improvements, better data and additional indicators are needed to provide a more holistic assessment of undernourishment and food security. This, in turn, requires strong commitment by international agencies to support the statistical capacity of developing countries. For its part, the FAO has launched several initiatives to improve the quality of basic data on food production, utilization and consumption, storage, trade and other key variables. This includes the formation of an international partnership for the implementation of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural Statistics.

1990

2011

Note: The trend analysis presented above is based on updated statistical methods that reect, for the rst time, harmonized estimates on child malnutrition from UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank.

Globally, an estimated 101 million children under age ve were underweight in 2011. This represents 16 per cent of all children under ve that year, or one in six. The number of underweight children in 2011 fell by 36 per cent from an estimated 159 million children in 1990. Still, this rate of progress is insufcient to meet the MDG target of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. Underweight prevalence in 2011 was highest in Southern Asia (31 per cent) and sub-Saharan Africa (21 per cent). This translates into 57 million and 30 million underweight children in Southern Asia and subSaharan Africa, respectively.

12 | THE MILLENNIUm DEVELOPmENt GOALS REPOrt 2013

Evidence pointing to the negative effects of undernutrition on survival, personal and national development, and long-term health is irrefutable, demanding urgent action.

Despite steady gains, one in four children around the world show signs of stunted growth
Number and percentage of children under age ve who are moderately or severely stunted, 1990, 2000 and 2011
Millions 300 250 200 30 150 20 100 50 0 10 Percentage 50

40

1990

2000

2011

Number of children under ve Percentage of children under ve

Stunting in infants and children, dened as inadequate length or height for their age, captures early chronic exposure to undernutrition. Globally, more than one quarter (26 per cent) of children under age ve were stunted in 2011. Though still unacceptably high, the percentage represents a 35 per cent decline from 1990 to 2011 (from 253 million to 165 million children). Analysis of the data shows that children in the poorest households are more than twice as likely to be stunted as children from the richest households. All regions have observed reductions in stunting over this period, while the prevalence of children who are overweight, another aspect of malnutrition, is rising. An estimated 43 million children under age ve were overweight in 2011, which represents 7 per cent of the global population in this age group. In sub-Saharan Africa, the overweight prevalence rate has more than doubled from 1990 to 2011from 3 per cent to 7 per cent. In combination with population growth, three times as many children are overweight in that region than in 1990. Sub-Saharan Africa is now home to nearly one quarter of the worlds overweight children.

The interventions currently under way that directly affect stunting and other nutrition indicators need to be expanded. These include simple, cost-effective measures during the critical 1,000-day window during pregnancy and before a child turns two. The well-established benets of age-appropriate feeding practices for infants and young children should be applied throughout the continuum of care, including timely initiation of breastfeeding (within one hour of birth), exclusive breastfeeding for the rst six months of a childs life, and continued breastfeeding for two years or more. Globally, less than half of newborns were breastfed within the rst hour of birth and only 39 per cent of children were breastfed exclusively for the rst six months.