• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • Opinion
    • Development Finance

    Opinion: $300B yearly to wipe out poverty is affordable. Here’s how

    This amount, estimated as the amount needed to set up basic social protection schemes in the world’s lowest-income countries, is affordable for the international community.

    By Olivier De Schutter // 06 February 2025

    Social protection is our greatest tool in the fight against poverty. Yet as 2025 gets underway, the harsh reality is that in the world’s lowest-income countries over 90% of people lack any form of protection whatsoever. There is simply nothing in place to protect them when they fall sick, or when their income changes as a result of life events such as unemployment, pregnancy, or old age.  

    Without first establishing basic social protection schemes in these countries, the outlook for eradicating poverty remains bleak.

    We know it would cost the world’s lowest-income countries (26 of them, accounting for 9% of the global population) $308.5 billion a year to provide their populations with the basic social rights that form the stepping stones out of poverty: namely, essential health care and basic income security. This price tag (equivalent to 52.3% of their GDP), is entirely out of the reach of countries squeezed by a heavy debt burden and therefore particularly hard hit by the rise in interest rates since 2022. As a result, social protection coverage for low-income countries has hardly increased since 2015.

    This article is free to read - just register or sign in

    Access news, newsletters, events and more.

    Join usSign in
    • Humanitarian Aid
    • Social/Inclusive Development
    • Banking & Finance
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
    The views in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect Devex's editorial views.

    About the author

    • Olivier De Schutter

      Olivier De Schutter

      Olivier De Schutter is the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. An academic specialized in economic and social rights, he was the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food from 2008 to 2014, and a member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 2015 to 2020.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    Development FinanceWhat happened at the last FfD conference, and what has changed since?

    What happened at the last FfD conference, and what has changed since?

    Development FinanceWhat is Financing for Development 4 and why is it a big deal?

    What is Financing for Development 4 and why is it a big deal?

    Development FinanceOpinion: In Sevilla, we can deliver a game changer for development finance

    Opinion: In Sevilla, we can deliver a game changer for development finance

    Development FinanceDefining a decade: What to expect from Financing for Development

    Defining a decade: What to expect from Financing for Development

    Most Read

    • 1
      Opinion: AI-powered technologies can transform access to health care
    • 2
      Exclusive: A first look at the Trump administration's UNGA priorities
    • 3
      WHO anticipates losing some 600 staff in Geneva
    • 4
      Opinion: Resilient Futures — a world where young people can thrive
    • 5
      AIIB turns 10: Is there trouble ahead for the China-backed bank?
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement