Over US$14 billion needed to mitigate the current surge of poverty: UNDP

According to the policy brief’s calculations, it would cost little more than US$14 billion, which is approximately 0.009 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product in 2022, to mitigate the current surge of poverty and lift out of poverty the 165 million people living on less than $3.65 a day. This is little less, on average, than four percent of low- and middle-income countries’ public external debt service payments in 2022 – which reached $370bn, WAM reports.

The entirety of these additional poor live in low - and lower-middle-income economies, with the poorest 20% in low-income countries suffering the most with their incomes still below the pre-pandemic levels in 2023. In response to this crisis, the UNDP is calling for adaptive social protection and a «Debt-Poverty Pause» to redirect debt repayments toward critical social expenditures.

Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, said: «Countries that could invest in safety nets over the last three years have prevented a significant number of people from falling into poverty. In highly indebted countries, there is a correlation between high levels of debt, insufficient social spending, and an alarming increase in poverty rates. Today, 46 countries pay more than 10 percent of their general government revenue on net interest payments. Debt servicing is making it increasingly harder for countries to support their populations through investments in health, education and social protection.»