Extreme poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, was originally defined by the United Nations (UN) in 1995 as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services." In 2018, extreme poverty widely refers to an income below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day, set by the World Bank. This is the equivalent of $1.00 a day in 1996 US prices, hence the widely used expression "living on less than a dollar a day". The vast majority of those in extreme poverty — 96 percent — reside in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the West Indies, East Asia, and the Pacific; nearly half live in India and China alone. As of 2018, it is estimated that the country with the most people living in extreme poverty is Nigeria, at 86 million.
Quality of life (QOL) is an overarching term for the quality of the various domains in life. It is a standard level that consists of the expectations of an individual or society for a good life. These expectations are guided by the values, goals and socio-cultural context in which an individual lives. It is a subjective, multidimensional concept that defines a standard level for emotional, physical, material and social well-being. It serves as a reference against which an individual or society can measure the different domains of one’s own life. The extent to which one's own life coincides with this desired standard level, put differently, the degree to which these domains give satisfaction and as such contribute to one's subjective well-being, is called life satisfaction.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. All 191 United Nations member states at that time, and at least 22 international organizations, committed to help achieve the following Millennium Development Goals by 2015:
- To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- To achieve universal primary education
- To promote gender equality and empower women
- To reduce child mortality
- To improve maternal health
- To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
- To ensure environmental sustainability
- To develop a global partnership for development
Development aid or development cooperation is financial aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. It is distinguished from humanitarian aid by focusing on alleviating poverty in the long term, rather than a short term response.
The capability approach is an economic theory conceived in the 1980s as an alternative approach to welfare economics. In this approach, Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum bring together a range of ideas that were previously excluded from traditional approaches to the economics of welfare. The core focus of the capability approach is on what individuals are able to do.
The Human Development Report (HDR) is an annual report published by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Poverty can be and is measured in different ways by governments, international organisations, policy makers and practitioners. Increasingly, poverty is understood as multidimensional comprising social, natural and economic factors situated within wider socio-political processes. The capabilities approach also argues that capturing the perceptions of poor people is fundamental in understanding and measuring poverty.
The Gender Related Development Index (GDI) is an index designed to measure gender equality.
The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) is an index designed to measure of gender equality. GEM is the United Nations Development Programme's attempt to measure the extent of gender inequality across the globe's countries, based on estimates of women's relative economic income, participations in high-paying positions with economic power, and access to professional and parliamentary positions. It was introduced at the same time as the Gender-related Development Index (GDI) but measures topics like empowerment that are not covered by that index.
Population Action International (PAI) is an international, non-governmental organization that uses research and advocacy to improve global access to family planning and reproductive health care. Its mission is to "ensure that every person has the right and access to sexual and reproductive health, so that humanity and the natural environment can exist in balance with fewer people living in poverty". PAI's headquarters is in Washington, D.C.
The Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP) is a research institution at George Washington University (GW) and located at the Elliott School of International Affairs. IIEP produces research and policy analyses in areas of ultra-poverty, climate change adaptation, trade, US-China relations, and global economic governance. It is also the home of an International Trade and Investment Policy master's program. Notable members include Sabina Alkire, James Foster, Jeni Klugman, and Jay Shambaugh. Partnerships with organizations like the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, Internet Society, and The Nature Conservancy have led to academic conferences and policy seminars.
Martin Ravallion, is an Australian economist. As of 2013 he was the inaugural Edmond D. Villani Professor of Economics at Georgetown University, and previously had been director of the research department at the World Bank. He holds a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics.
The Figure Rating Scale (FRS) also known as the Stunkard Scale is a psychometric measurement developed in 1983 as a tool to determine body dissatisfaction in women and men. This scale has also been developed for measuring adolescent body image. This type of measurement was originally developed and validated to indicate the weight status of relatives of research subjects when other specific measurements or self-reported values were unavailable. This scale is a visible measure of how an individual perceives his or her own physical appearance. Each figure presents nine male and nine female schematic silhouettes, ranging from extreme thinness to extreme obesity. For research purposes, participants are asked to self-select the silhouette that best indicates his or her current body size and the silhouette that reflects his or her ideal body size (IBS).
The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index(MPI) was developed in 2010 by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme. and uses different factors to determine poverty beyond income-based lists. It replaced the previous Human Poverty Index. The global MPI is released annually by OPHI and the results published on its website.
The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) is an economic research centre within the Oxford Department of International Development at the University of Oxford, England, that was established in 2007.
The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is an index for measurement of gender disparity that was introduced in the 2010 Human Development Report 20th anniversary edition by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). According to the UNDP, this index is a composite measure to quantify the loss of achievement within a country due to gender inequality. It uses three dimensions to measure opportunity cost: reproductive health, empowerment, and labor market participation.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030. The SDGs are part of Resolution 70/1 of the United Nations General Assembly: "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". That has been shortened to "2030 Agenda".
Measures of gender equality or (in)equality are statistical tools employed to quantify the concept of gender equality.
Sabina Alkire is the Oliver T. Carr, Jr. Professor in International Affairs at the George Washington University, and the Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), an economic research centre within the Oxford Department of International Development at the University of Oxford, England, which was established in 2007. She is a fellow of the Human Development and Capability Association.
Sustainable Development Goal 6, one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the UN in 2015. It calls for clean water and sanitation for all people. The official wording is: "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all." The goal has eight targets to be achieved by at least 2030. Progress toward the targets will be measured by using eleven "indicators."
