Social Sustainability
Poverty Alleviation
Definition
Poverty alleviation denotes the range of interventions — income transfers, livelihood support, education, health, financial inclusion, infrastructure — aimed at lifting people out of poverty and reducing its depth and severity. Poverty is measured in income terms (the World Bank's international poverty line) and multidimensionally (the UN Multidimensional Poverty Index covering health, education and living standards).
References
Supports definition and framing.
Supports definition and framing.
Overview
How it is used
The term structures development policy (SDG 1), social protection design, impact evaluation of anti-poverty programmes, and the poverty-environment analysis of institutions such as UNDP and the World Bank.
Why it matters
Poverty alleviation is the social pillar's core objective; its intersection with environmental limits defines the central challenge of sustainable development.