SDG1 no poverty making the dream a reality

SDG1 À NO POVERTY


CONCISE GUIDES TO THE
UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Series Editors
Walter Leal Filho
World Sustainable Development Research and Transfer
Centre, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
Mark Mifsud
Centre for Environmental Education and Research,
University of Malta
This series comprises 17 short books, each examining one of
the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The series provides an integrated assessment of the SDGs
from an economic, social, environmental and cultural perspective. Books in the series critically analyse and assess the
SDGs from a multi-disciplinary and a multi-regional standpoint, with each title demonstrating innovation in theoretical
and empirical analysis, methodology, and application of the
SDG concerned.
Titles in this series have a particular focus on the means to
implement the SDGs, and each one includes a short introduction to the SDG in question along with a synopsis of their
implications on the economic, social, environmental and cultural domains.


SDG1 À NO POVERTY
Making the Dream a Reality
BY

KATARZYNA CICHOS

Cardinal Stefan Wyszyn¡ski
University in Warsaw, Poland

AMANDA LANGE SALVIA
University of Passo Fundo, Brazil

United Kingdom À North America À Japan
India À Malaysia À China


Emerald Publishing Limited
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First edition 2019
Copyright r 2019 Katarzyna Cichos and Amanda Lange
Salvia. Published under exclusive licence
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CONTENTS
List of Tables

vii

About the Authors

ix

Acknowledgements

xi

1. Introduction

1

2. Poverty and Development

5

3. The Right to Development as an International
Commitment to Eradicate Poverty

19

4. Solidarity as Basic Development Aid’s Principle

25

5. A Framework of Policies to Combat Poverty

31

6. Sustainable Development Goal 1

51

7. Good and Bad Practice in the Eradication of Poverty

63

8. New Horizons for the Eradication of Poverty À
Recommendations

91

9. Conclusion

101

References

103

Index

123

v


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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 HDI Values in the Range of Low Human
Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

Table 6.1 Targets and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . .

53

Table 6.2 Difficulties in Reaching SDG1. . . . . . . . .

58

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Katarzyna Cichos has a PhD and Master’s degree in Law.
Currently, she works as a Lecturer and Researcher at
Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw in the
Faculty of Law and Administration. For many years, she was
an active member of local community initiatives connected to
community organisation, monitoring mechanisms of watchdogs and local aspects of good governance and sustainable
development. Her research interests include legal aspects of
sustainable development, poverty reduction, development
assistance and the European Union’s foreign and trade policy.
Amanda Lange Salvia has a degree in Environmental Engineering, and she is currently a Doctoral Student in Civil and
Environmental Engineering at the University of Passo Fundo,
Brazil. Her current interests include sustainability, sustainable
cities, sustainable universities, environment management,
energy efficiency and the Sustainable Development Goals.

ix

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was funded by the National Science Centre on
the basis of the decision: 2014/13/N/HS5/01281

xi


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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Although the international community has, for many decades, put efforts into eliminating extreme poverty, it is estimated that around 800 million people still live below the
international poverty line of $1.90 a day. That figure reflects
a decrease in the global poverty rate. However, around 40%
of people in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to subsist in conditions of extreme poverty. Additionally, looking ahead, we
must recognise the challenges posed by demographic trends:
it is estimated that the world population will reach more than
9 billion by 2050, with the population of Sub-Saharan Africa
set to more than double. It is further predicted that to satisfy
increasing demand, global agricultural production in 2050
will have to increase by 60% over 2005 levels and water use
could increase by 50% by 2025. This could cause around 5.5
billion people (two-thirds of the projected global population)

to live in areas facing severe water stress (EU, 2013). The
increase in the average age of the world’s population, armed
conflicts and climate changes also need to be taken into consideration. This data indicates that the global community is
1


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SDG1 – No Poverty: Making the Dream a Reality

perhaps at its final crossroad in finding a way to solve the
problem of poverty, not only for the sake of the human dignity of the poorest but also to prevent negative consequences
for the entire population of the world.
Economic growth still seems to be the most important
issue when we consider sustainable development. However,
we can see that there are those who have been left behind,
living in conditions that prevent them from profiting from
global or even national growth. We shall consider some new
approaches to tackling the eradication of poverty. However,
we also need to recognise that when we talk about those living in poverty and those with a right to development, we are
not talking about the same group of people. No one can
argue against everyone having the right to development;
equally, it is not possible to contend that everyone is free
from extreme poverty (Cichos, 2016). There are always poor
people in developed countries who have access to basic health
care, free education and initiatives that can support them;
however, there are also those who live in extreme poverty
without access to education, health services, assistance, or
even water. The question is whether the world’s community
should treat everyone (i.e. those who live in extreme poverty

and those who do not) equally, or perhaps concentrate its
particular attention on those who have been left behind.
On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development,
adopted by world leaders in September 2015, officially came
into force. The aim of Agenda 2030 is to mobilise efforts to
end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate
change. The SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium
Development Goals (2000) (MDGs) which were agreed upon
by governments in 2001 and expired at the end of 2015. The
main aim of the SDGs is to complete the action taken by the
world community to implement MDGs and to ensure that no


Introduction

3

one is left behind. Goal 1 aims at ending poverty in all forms
everywhere and, as this first target indicates, at eradicating
extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030. Although
Agenda 2030 provides 17 goals, the first of these seems to
agree with the central assumption that no one should be left
behind. There is no doubt that it will be judged a global failure if we achieve even the very challenging goals and targets
recommended by Agenda 2030 without providing basic living
conditions to the poorest.
This book is about those who have been left behind and
concentrates on asking what can be improved within the legal
framework and practice. If we consider that there is frequently no rational explanation for the existence of poverty
(such as war or a humanitarian disaster), we should ask the

important question of how we deal with those countries and
societies needing assistance and how we deliver aid in the
most effective way while preventing corruption and other
abuses. This book offers a new look at global problems and
presents solutions to show how the global community can
eliminate poverty and achieve its global promise, SDG1,
today. It means that the vision of ending extreme poverty and
providing dignity to all human beings will no longer be just a
vision. It is time to bring it about, and we contend that the
international community already has all the necessary instruments and knowledge to do this.
The first part of the book explains what poverty and
development are, asking whether the right to development
constitutes an international commitment to eradicate poverty.
It also presents the current framework of international assistance in eliminating poverty (including the UN, OECD, WB,
AU and EU’s policies and practices in development cooperation aid). The second part concentrates on the SDG strategy.
It examines the proposition of SDG1, evaluating the first
actions taken in this area; it further presents the best practices


4

SDG1 – No Poverty: Making the Dream a Reality

(including 13 case studies) of the recent frameworks for poverty eradication and outlines the challenges to implementation. The final section offers a number of proposals and
recommendations for consideration in making global action
more effective. These include such aspects as concentration
on a more local/regionally oriented development policy,
returning to solutions within local communities, a focus on
basic human needs like health and education, reform of
development institutions, funding and a proposal for a new

(possibly binding) agenda. The aim is to present a broad and
comprehensive picture of global efforts (both as a legal and
policy framework and implementation practices) to eradicate
poverty and achieve SDG1.


CHAPTER 2
POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT

2.1. THE MEANING OF POVERTY
It is important to define what poverty is and to understand
development in the context of SDG1, which aims at eradicating poverty. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,
poverty is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially
acceptable amount of money or material possessions.
Economists distinguish between two main classifications of
poverty: absolute poverty as a condition where household
income is below a necessary level to maintain basic living
standards (food, shelter and housing) and relative poverty as
a condition where household income is a certain percentage
below median income. A common monetary measure of
absolute poverty (defined by the World Bank as the international poverty line) in 2008 was receiving less than
US$1.25 a day (Ravallion, Chen, & Sangraula, 2008); in
October 2015 this was reset to US$1.90 a day. According to
the World Bank, poverty means deprivation in well-being
and has many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the
inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for
survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses ‘low levels of
5

6

SDG1 – No Poverty: Making the Dream a Reality

health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life’ (World
Bank, 2001).
The United Nations also distinguishes between absolute
poverty (extreme/chronic poverty) and relative poverty (generally referred to simply as poverty). According to the
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in light
of the International Bill of Rights, for example, Article 11 of
ICESCR, 1966) poverty is ‘a human condition characterised
by the sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil,
cultural, economic, political and social rights’ (Economic and
Social Council, 2001, para. 8). Extreme poverty has been
defined as ‘the combination of income poverty, human development poverty and social exclusion’ (Human Rights
Council, 2008, para. 13), emphasising that ‘the lack of basic
security leads to chronic poverty when it simultaneously
affects several aspects of people’s lives, when it is prolonged
and when it severely compromises people’s chances of regaining their rights and of reassuming their responsibilities in the
foreseeable future’ (Economic and Social Council, 1996). The
Human Rights Council in 2012 recognised that ‘persons living
in poverty are confronted by the most severe obstacles À physical, economic, cultural and social À to accessing their rights
and entitlements’. Such people experience many interrelated
deprivations, including ‘dangerous work conditions, unsafe
housing, lack of nutritious food, unequal access to justice, lack
of political power and limited access to health care, preventing
them from realising their rights and perpetuate their poverty’.
Additionally, people who experience life in extreme poverty
are exposed to a ‘vicious cycle of powerlessness, stigmatisation,
discrimination, exclusion and material deprivation, which all

Poverty and Development

7

mutually reinforce one another’ (Human Rights Council,
2012). Moreover, persons living in extreme poverty should be
the object of particular concern because ‘their marginalisation,
exclusion and stigmatisation often mean that they are not
reached effectively by public policies and services. Obstacles,
insecurity and structural factors frequently render it impossible
for them to claim their rights and to fulfil their potential independently; they need active support from the State and other
relevant stakeholders’ (Human Rights Council, 2012).
Consequently, we need to distinguish between those who live
in poverty and those living in extreme or absolute poverty.
Therefore, the action to eliminate poverty highlighted in SDG1
should be understood as an action for the elimination of
extreme poverty.

2.2. THE MEANING OF DEVELOPMENT AND
DEVELOPMENT AID
Initially, development was seen in purely economic terms, in
the sense of creating economic growth through financial measures to increase the gross domestic product (GDP). The leading figure in this concept was the founder of the Bretton
Woods Institution, the British economist Keynes (1936).
Based on the experience of the use of funds allocated under
the Marshall Plan, Keynes and his successors suggested that
development is caused by economic growth, which can be
increased through investment. They also defined the role of
development assistance as bridging the gap in national economies by increasing foreign capital (Rostow, 1960). The first

period of development aid is characterised as development by
increasing GDP and covers the years 1950À1965. This was
reflected in institutions such as the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, 1944) or the


8

SDG1 – No Poverty: Making the Dream a Reality

International Finance Corporation (IFC, 1956), which form
part of the World Bank Group.
Despite initial enthusiasm for the economic concept, at the
beginning of the 1960s there were calls for a need to consider
the social and technological aspects of aid and development.
The lack of expected results from assistance that had been
provided generated a global discussion about aid. In 1969,
the OECD countries for the first time defined Official development assistance (ODA), whose main purpose was the promotion of social and economic development in developing
countries by giving financial support on preferential terms
(Führer, 1994). The preamble to the Declaration on Social
Progress and Development in 1969 (UN, 1969b) stated that
economic development depended on social development and
each influenced the other. This was the beginning of a different concept of development which concentrated on the
importance of basic needs and economic and social aspects. It
played an important role from the mid-1960s to the early
1980s, when the concept of sustainable development began
to dominate. The idea of sustainable development was summarised in the first sentence of the World Commission on
Environment and Development’s report (Brundtland Report)
Our Common Future (1987), which states that ‘humanity
has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure

that it meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’
(p. 27). The report’s development vision is based on three
pillars: economic growth and equitable distribution of benefits, conservation of natural resources and the environment,
and social development. These are interconnected, overlapping and interdependent. It also stressed that the creation of a
fully sustainable model of life requires a variety of activities
in regions all around the world. (Stoddart, 2011).


Poverty and Development

9

Cassen (1994) asked: ‘Does Aid Work?’ The answer was
affirmative, but only partially. As a consequence of many
years of failures, world economic crises and poor outcomes
from giving aid, donor states had been significantly discouraged from providing development assistance (Browne, 1999;
Stokke, 2009). This caused a reorientation regarding aid,
concentrating instead on human aspects, particularly the
eradication of poverty as a primary goal. It was conceived as
human development and presented at the beginning of the
1990s, the main authors of the theory being the Nobel Prize
winners Amartya Sen and Mahbub ul Haq, the Pakistani
economist and author of the Human Development Index
(HDI). The concept of human development has appeared
since 1990 in reports on human development (HDR), which
defines development as the ‘process of enlarging human
choices’ (HDR, 1991). This concept, as highlighted in the
1996 HDR, goes far beyond measuring income and economic
growth to cover the full flourishing of all human capabilities

(HDR, 1996). It also points out that economic growth is not
directly connected with prosperity and the development of
the human individual (Haq, 2003). The reports stress the
importance of putting people — their needs, aspirations, freedom and choices — at the centre of development work
(Fukuda-Parr, 2003; Sen, 1999). The main goal of human
development is to ensure a long life to individuals with access
to health care, education, and the possibility of participating
in the social and political life of their country (Alkire, 2010).
The key elements of the idea of human development can be
seen in the Declaration on the Right to Development (1986)
which, in Article 1, states that the right to development is ‘an
inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute
to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms


10

SDG1 – No Poverty: Making the Dream a Reality

can be fully realised’ and additionally in Article 2 that ‘the
human person is the central subject of development and
should be the active participant and beneficiary of the right
to development’. This concept also seems closest to SDG1
and the international community’s goal of eradicating poverty; for it is only by putting individuals at the centre of a
development framework that the global community can raise
the most vulnerable and achieve its goals.

2.3. INSTRUMENTS FOR MEASURING POVERTY AND
DEVELOPMENT
The most common ways of comparing economic development between countries are GDP (gross domestic product),

GNP (gross national product) and GNI (gross national
income). They measure the value of the goods and services
produced in a country; however, GNP and GNI also consider
any income generated abroad by an industry based in the
home country. Therefore, they are regarded as a more precise
way of measuring economic development than GDP. GNI
has also become the typical way to measure the level of prosperity within a country. Yet, measuring the total gross value
of GNI can be misleading because it does not consider the
population of each country. For this reason, GNI figures are
usually shown as ‘per capita’, i.e. the total wealth of the
country divided by its population.
All three of these measures provide limited information
about levels of development within a country. They do not
consider all those activities that are not monetarised; for
example, household work and subsistence agriculture. They
also fail to represent the cultural, social, political and other
aspects of human life (Haq, 2009) and fail to take into
account the problem that economic growth may not be


Poverty and Development

11

sustainable if it has negative impacts on the environment or
causes widening inequality within a society.
Research has looked for a more comprehensive measure of
development that would consider a wider range of factors,
such as health, education and gender equality (Anand & Sen
2009, p. 139). The most commonly used measure of social

development is the HDI, found in the annual Human
Development Reports produced by the UNDP, and launched
by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990. This
method considers three measures of development: levels of
wealth within the country as measured by GDP per capita
and adjusted by purchasing power parity (PPP); a long and
healthy life, as measured by average life expectancy; and
knowledge, as measured by the percentage of the population
in education at specific ages (primary, secondary and tertiary)
and literacy levels. Additionally, the UN introduced an
improvement to its HDI measurement in 2010 by including
an HDI adjusted for inequality in its report (Beegle,
Christiaensen, Dabalen, & Gaddis, 2016).
To complement the HDI, the UN published the
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in its 2010 Report.
This index identifies deprivations across the same three areas
as the HDI but also presents the number of individuals who
are multi-dimensionally poor (suffering deprivations in 33%
or more of the weighted indicators) and the number of
weighted deprivations with which poor households typically
contend. The MPI instrument can be the most helpful in the
implementation of SDG1. As stressed by the UN, the MPI
can help with effective allocation of resources. It can also target those in the greatest poverty and help address SDGs strategically, including the possibility of monitoring the impact of
policy intervention (HDR MPI web). This means that the
MPI can be the most helpful measurement tool in the context
of eradicating poverty.


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SDG1 – No Poverty: Making the Dream a Reality

CASE 1: Institute for Liberty and Democracy
Led by a Peruvian economist, the Institute for Liberty and
Democracy (ILD) works with developing countries to
implement property and business rights reforms that provide the legal tools and institutions required for citizens to
participate in the formal national and global economy.
The institute aims to ensure that all people have equal
access to secure rights to lift themselves and their countries
out of poverty.
Poverty has persisted even in developing countries with
remarkable economic growth; foreign assistance, humanitarian aid and business/property reforms have not yet successfully improved this issue. Therefore, the ILD works as
an alternative to research into the informal sector and
gives poor people simple and quick ways of getting rights
to their land, homes and businesses.
Legalising business through this project is cheaper and faster, and it helps people save money and have their work
recognised. Even though it is not by itself the solution to
guarantee a way out from poverty (since many other steps
need to be taken to offer more opportunities to the poor),
establishing property rights is an important first step.
Source: Institute for Liberty and Democracy, http://www.
ild.org.pe/

2.4. WHERE DO THE POOREST LIVE?
According to the HDR (2016), there are still many countries
with low human development, as shown in Table 2.1. Most
of these countries are African. Within the last 15 years, we
can identify some trends, but in general there are very limited