World Bank report shows high poverty levels with over 50% of Nigerians affected

LEGIT NG

More than 50% of people in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries suffer multidimensional poverty, according to a World Bank report.

This was one of the findings revealed by the World Bank in its Year in Review Report—2024 Key Development Challenges in Nine Charts: How the World Is Off-Track to Reduce Poverty.

The report referred to multidimensional poverty, which includes education, basic infrastructure services, and monetary.

It noted that more than half the Nigerian population does not cook with clean energy but rather uses dung, wood, or charcoal, all of which are detrimental to sanitation and healthcare.

The World Bank said in its report that more than half the people in these countries, including Nigeria, live below the international poverty line of $2.15 daily.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Multidimensional Poverty Index report in 2022 said that 63% of Nigerians lived in multidimensional poverty, and this recent report from the World Bank confirms that not much has changed.

According to the PUNCH, despite vigorous efforts made by the institution to help developing countries catch up with their developed counterparts, the challenges persist.

The World Bank report also noted that the time is ripe for the world to face the harsh reality that ending poverty globally by 2030 is no longer possible.

The report reads in part;

It observed also that up to 700 million people globally live below $2.15 daily and are classified as living in extreme poverty, while another 3.5 billion people live below $6.85 daily, which is the poverty line for middle-income countries.

It warned;

Other challenges highlighted in the report include climate shocks, slow economic growth, debt burdens, conflicts, and lingering effects of COVID-29.

The World Bank also noted that the International Development Association has in place a model to generate affordable funding to the tune of $ 100 billion to help poor countries with development projects in healthcare, education, energy, food security, and creating employment.

It called on countries to work with it to end extreme poverty and promote a liveable planet shortly.