The more I dive deeper into each goal, the more I realised how little I know. It’s funny how our brain does that. We love to think we know more than we do.
Inspired by a conversation I had in my blog post, ‘Words, but what do they actually mean?’ I wanted to do a series of guides focusing on each Sustainable Development Goal. A framework laid out by the United Nations, with the aim of creating peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.
The more I dive deeper into each goal, the more I began to realise how little I know. Yet, I always felt like I had a good understanding of them. It’s funny how our brain does that. We love to think we know more than we do.
Going into each of the goals and their targets has given me a new profound respect for them. It's also helped me to look at global issues with a new and more complex light.
This led me to think about greenwashing, which understandably is a big topic right now. I'm beginning to question the claims companies are making and looking beneath the surface to identify what they're actually doing. It's incredibly harmful and does a huge disservice to the people who are being affected every single day by these world problems.
That may be a separate post...
But for now, let’s start with Goal 1: No Poverty.
The first question I wanted to start with was how is Poverty defined within this context, as it could mean so many things.
According to the UN, poverty is defined by those living on an income of less than $2(US) per day. And just for context, nearly half of the world’s population currently live on this.
Of those, over 800 million people live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $1.25 a day. Lacking access to proper nutrition, clean drinking water and adequate health services. Poverty also encompasses a lack of Education, Food, Health Care, Shelter, Political Inclusion, Choice, Safety and Dignity.
The second question that I wanted to uncover is how we measure the progress against each of those factors. This is what I found:
Poverty Rate
Looking at the percentage of people living below the national or/and the international poverty line, which is currently set at $2 per day.
Proportion of population covered by social protection systems.
This looks at the social protection countries provide to its citizens. For example, social safety nets, pensions, and other forms of assistance.
Percentage of population living in households with access to basic services
This includes access to education, healthcare, clean water & sanitation, and other essential services.
Progressive realization of social protection
This indicator looks at the efforts made by countries to achieve greater coverage of social protection systems.
Poverty Ratio Gap
This measures the intensity of poverty by calculating the average income, or consumption shortfall for people that are living below the poverty line.
Employment-to-population ratio
The proportion of a country’s working-age that is employed.
Youth not in education, employment, or training
This indicator helps to assess the vulnerability of young people to poverty and unemployment.
Income growth of the bottom 40% of the population
This looks at how economic growth is benefitting the most vulnerable segments of the population.
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