As the world grapples with the pandemic, the new State of Economic Inclusion
report points to paths out of poverty for the poorest and most vulnerable.
The World Bank estimates that the economic fallout from the pandemic may add as many as 150 million extreme poor by 2021. Women, children, displaced populations, and people with disabilities have been particularly hard hit.
Imagine you are in a race, running at a steady pace during the first two-thirds. However, 
you notice that your pace is slowing, and you realize that unless you make changes you are not only not going to win, but you risk not even completing the race.
I find this analogy to work well while narrating the story about the reduction in global extreme poverty to my family and friends. Even though this is when we should be ratcheting up the pace, it has been slowing for the last few years, so that the world not only risks missing out on its extreme poverty reduction goals, but in some cases, we are seeing a reversal in the gains achieved.
It is undeniable that progress has been made in reducing extreme poverty over the last 
quarter century—from 36 percent of the world population in 1990 to an estimated 8.6 percent in 2018—and that living standards for hundreds of millions of people have improved over that time.
Yet, poverty reduction has not been consistent across countries and today it is slowing.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2018 Fewer people are living in extreme poverty around the world, but the decline in poverty rates has slowed, raising concerns about achieving the
goal of ending poverty by 2030 and pointing to the need for increased pro-poor investments, the World Bank finds.
The percentage of people living in extreme poverty globally fell to a new low of 10 percent in 2015 — the latest number available — down from 11 percent in 2013, reflecting steady but slowing progress, World Bank data show. The number of people living on less than $1.90 a day fell during this period by 68 million to 736 million.
Follow the event on Twitter with #EndPoverty Date: Monday, October 3, 2016
Time: 18:00-19:30GMT/ 2:00pm-3:30pm ET or convert time
Location: Brookings Institution, Washington DC
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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