Coronavirus Could Push More Than 1 Billion People to Extreme Poverty: Due to the severe long-term impact of the months-long coronavirus pandemic, an additional 207 million people worldwide could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030, raising the total number to more than a billion, according to a new study from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Such a concerted global effort has the potential to slow the rise of extreme poverty, especially among girls and women, by lifting 146 million people from its grip.
UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner asserted that the ongoing pandemic is a “tipping point” and the future of millions would depend on making keen decisions today.
“As this new poverty research highlights, the COVID-19 pandemic is a tipping point, and the choices leaders take now could take the world in very different directions,” he said in a news release.
“We
have an opportunity to invest in a decade of action that not only helps
people recover from COVID-19, but that resets the development path of
people and planet towards a fairer, resilient, and green future.”
