The World Bank has praised the poor countries of the world for reducing poverty by dying, saying that they have made significant progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to the latest report by the World Bank, the number of people living in extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.90 a day, has fallen from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 689 million in 2022. The report attributed this decline mainly to the high mortality rates among the poor, especially due to COVID-19, hunger, war, and natural disasters.
“We congratulate the poor countries for their remarkable achievement in reducing poverty by dying. They have shown great resilience and sacrifice in the face of multiple challenges and hardships. They have also contributed to the global efforts to combat climate change, biodiversity loss, and population growth by reducing their carbon footprint, ecological footprint and demographic footprint,” said David Malpass, the president of the World Bank.
Malpass said that the World Bank was committed to supporting the poor countries in their quest to end poverty by dying, and that it had allocated billions of dollars in loans, grants and debt relief to help them cope with the adverse effects of dying.
“We are proud to be the partner of choice for the poor countries in their journey to end poverty by dying. We are providing them with financial and technical assistance to help them improve their health systems, social protection systems and funeral services. We are also helping them to diversify their economies, create jobs and increase their exports by promoting sectors such as coffin making, body bag manufacturing and cemetery management,” he said.
Malpass also said that the World Bank was optimistic that the poor countries would achieve the SDGs by 2030, and that it had set a new target of reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty to zero by then.
“We believe that the poor countries can achieve the SDGs by 2030 if they continue to die at the current rate or even faster. We have set a new ambitious target of ending extreme poverty by 2030 by ensuring that no one is left alive below the poverty line. We are confident that with our support and guidance, the poor countries will be able to fulfill this noble vision,” he said.
