How to tackle global poverty more effectively in 2026

Despite the world’s technological advancements and progress, global poverty unfortunately remains one of the most pressing challenges of our time. It is critical to examine the scope of global poverty, the progress made in 2025 and the strategies that we need to employ to address this issue in 2026. This will require a multidimensional approach that considers factors such as income, social services, health, education and other fundamental issues that play a significant role in human well-being.

As of October, about 831 million people worldwide were living in extreme poverty, which is defined as surviving on less than the equivalent of $3 per day. This is substantially down from the 2.3 billion people who lived under such conditions in 1990. This progress has been achieved thanks to decades of economic growth, development initiatives, improvements in education and healthcare access, and various poverty alleviation programs.

Nevertheless, significant challenges and disparities remain across different regions and population groups. And the persistence of extreme deprivation among hundreds of millions of people reveals that poverty remains an entrenched global issue.

The progress in reducing poverty has been uneven across regions, with some countries achieving rapid gains, while others, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, continue to struggle with widespread poverty. Their situation is compounded by weak and fragile institutions, conflict and environmental vulnerability.

While poverty used to be more widely distributed across the world, it is now concentrated in certain countries. The majority of the world’s extremely poor, about 70 percent, reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Countries with high poverty levels also face structural barriers to development, including weak governance, limited infrastructure and vulnerability to climatic and economic shocks.

The persistence of extreme deprivation reveals that poverty remains an entrenched global issue

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Nigeria alone is home to more than 100 million people living in extreme poverty, representing nearly a fifth of the region’s total. Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan and other countries such as Mozambique, Malawi and Niger are also prominent among the nations with the highest poverty rates. This concentration means that the international community should have strategies that focus on targeted interventions to address the specific challenges of fragile and conflict-affected states.

The rural-urban divide is also important, as about three-quarters of extremely poor people live in rural areas, where there is limited access to education and healthcare. There are also less opportunities for growth in these areas.

In spite of these challenges, 2025 has offered some progress. This points to improvements in economic conditions, social protection programs and targeted development initiatives in some key regions. Those countries that implemented social protection programs and expanded access to education and healthcare, while investing in rural infrastructure, have demonstrated meaningful progress.

Nevertheless, some countries with the highest concentrations of extreme poverty face compounding crises such as conflict and political instability. This exacerbates deprivation, displaces populations, disrupts markets and undermines accessibility to essential services.

Climate change also disproportionately impacts the rural poor, who rely heavily on subsistence agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods. Health crises, including infectious disease outbreaks, also entrench poverty. As a result, these overlapping vulnerabilities show that poverty reduction cannot be approached solely through income growth. Instead, it requires multifaceted strategies that incorporate health, education and living standards.

Holistic approaches that prioritize multidimensional strategies for well-being are more likely to be effective

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

The international community undoubtedly has a vital role to play not only in sustaining but also in accelerating the progress against extreme poverty through official development assistance, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected countries. But aid must also be accompanied by long-term investments in social infrastructure to ensure that resources reach the most vulnerable populations and are used effectively.

In addition to financial assistance, international coordination on advancing education and knowledge-sharing can accelerate global efforts to reduce poverty. In 2026, the international community should ratchet up its assistance to programs that address social protection, education, healthcare and climate resilience. Holistic approaches that prioritize multidimensional strategies for well-being are more likely to be effective and have positive outcomes.

This year has taught us several lessons, including that we need to better emphasize and work together in the fight against global poverty. Multidimensional approaches are best because they address several forms of deprivation that reinforce one another when it comes to global poverty.

Finally, the international community should also invest in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and climate adaptation, which all play an interconnected role in poverty.

In a nutshell, to address global poverty more effectively, we need to understand that it is a multidimensional challenge that requires a multifaceted approach, as well as sustained commitment from the international community. There has been some progress in 2025 but more strategic investment in social protection, education and healthcare is required in 2026 to continue the progress and adequately tackle global poverty.

• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh