Nigeria missing amongst 29 nations in need of $125bn to exit poverty by 2030
A fresh report released by London-based think tank, Overseas Development Institute (ODI) on financing extreme poverty has listed 29 countries that are in need of about $125 billion each year to address poverty reduction ahead of 2030 target end to extreme poverty.
The report believed that even though efforts are being made in different economies to reduce inequality, it said those efforts won’t yield desired outcomes if the required funding gaps are not met, especially in some of the world’s poorest countries.
According to Wikipedia, extreme poverty relates to abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, was originally defined by the United Nations in 1995 as “a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information
ODI listed the 29 nations that will not be unable to raise even half of the needed investment in health, education and social protection to exit extreme poverty by 2030 to include Central Africa Republic, Somalia, Madagascar, Burundi, Chad, DR Congo, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Eritrea, South Sudan, Uganda, Mozambique, Mali, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Benin, Togo, Malawi, Liberia, the Gambia, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, Guinea and Senegal.
Development economists who reviewed the report were divided on the true status of Nigeria in poverty ratings considering the barrage latest reports ranking Nigeria as home to the highest number of poor people in the world now.
The report also revealed Ireland, Belgium and Norway as the three major donor countries with the highest efficiency when it comes to aid and nations like Australia, Korea and Japan scored less than 20 per cent efficiency, making them the three least efficient donors.
The report averred that “Although increased taxation could close this gap in most middle-income countries, low-income countries will remain reliant on aid to fund these social sectors”.
It further added that “The poverty rate in these 29 countries is predicted to be seven times higher yet they currently receive ten times less in aid,” the report indicated.
Business Hilights reports that in 2015, leaders of all countries committed to ‘eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere’ by 2030. In the past 25 years, according to the World Bank the world has managed to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty.
ODI report said “Yet despite this progress, it is estimated that at least 400 million people will still be living on less than $1.90 a day by 2030 – over half of these people will be in low-income, fragile countries.”
However, the ODI document also presents key findings and analysis on what needs to be done so that the global target to end extreme poverty by 2030 can be delivered.
Key in its recommendations include that aid should be directed to countries that are least able to finance their own public spending to end extreme poverty, even after maximising their tax revenues, with OECD DAC donors increasing their share of aid to least developed countries from 29 per cent to 50 per cent.
It also recommends that funding should be increased in these countries for the core social sectors of health, education and particularly social protection. It further recommends an increase in global aid from OECD DAC donors to meet the 0.7 per cent of GNI commitment.
