Ending Poverty in All its Forms Everywhere

As the world approaches the halfway point to the target year of 2030 for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) approved in 2015, it is clear that poverty will be far from eradicated by then. Absolute poverty is concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and overwhelmingly in 12-15 countries where progress in poverty alleviation is largely insufficient to get even close to achieving SDG1. The absolute number of extremely poor people in SSA is increasing and by 2030 it will be larger than the entire population of the European Union. While inequality matters for poverty reduction, it is the inequality between rich and poor nations that stands out. It is crucial to analyse poverty and inequality in absolute numbers. Relative and scale-neutral concepts distort our understanding and shield those who do not want to share just a tiny fraction of their rich countries’ wealth with the world’s poorest people. SDG1 would be within reach if rich countries shared a tiny fraction of their income. However, OECD countries are increasingly using their official development assistance as finance to support their more pressing foreign and security policy objectives, especially limiting migration, which also promotes redistribution from rich to poor. Europe needs to realize that investing more in Africa is good economics and good for security. Building strong relations with African governments and collaborating in building and strengthening key national institutions are critical both for poverty reduction and promoting peace and security.