The world aspires to end poverty in all its forms by 2030. However, as I shared here, this admirable aspiration is out of reach. Could this mean it is impossible to eradicate poverty in our lifetime? Certainly not! A world free of poverty is very attainable in our lifetime, as I blogged here.  The persistence of poverty is attributable to numerous factors. In addition to what I discussed in ‘The 10 (Sure) Ways to Losing War on Poverty’ blog post, ‘empathy deficit’ is also a key contributing factor.

Dr Keetie Roelen, a Senior Research Fellow and Co-Deputy Director at the Centre for the Study of Global Development at the Open University (UK), has a forthcoming book entitled The Empathy Fix: Why Poverty Persists and How to Change It. This book holds great promise in providing invaluable insights that could contribute to eradicating poverty because:

• It “reveals how our attitudes and approaches to poverty often make things worse rather than help people live better lives”, as stressed here. Certain attitudes and approaches often demonstrate little empathy towards the poor. In both my practice and academic/research life, I often encounter views that the poor are responsible for their own poverty since they are lazy and donor-dependent. I have also observed poverty eradication efforts and interactions with the poor that showed little or no empathy toward the poor. These are some of the issues, as shared here, highlighted in Dr Keetie Roelen’s forthcoming book.

• The book could be influential in shaping poverty eradication. If poverty efforts are to be successful, they need to be rooted in empathy. This is what Dr Keetie Roelen’s book sets out to champion. As she stated here, while an ’empathy deficit’ is making it difficult to end poverty, “it isn’t all doom and gloom”, as there is a viable solution: empathy. Her book provides practical guidance on “how we can all tap into our innate ability to empathise and take action” with a view to successfully eradicating poverty.

The book draws not only on global evidence and the many conversations Dr Keetie Roelen and her guests had on her podcast, Poverty Unpacked, but also on her wealth of expertise. It is, without doubt, a significant contribution to our efforts to end poverty.  The book will be launched early next year. However, you can pre-order it here. I personally can’t wait to get my copy.