A world free of poverty remains a distant aspiration, since we are off track to meet the “No Poverty” target by 2030. Does that mean, then, that we are losing the war on poverty? Certainly not. Ending poverty within our lifetime remains possible, as I shared earlier here. What is required, however, is decisive action to address the multiple factors that keep poverty stubbornly persistent, some of which I shared here.

As I reflected on my contributions to advancing poverty eradication thus far –  including my recent research work published here and here, finalising our first book, ‘Understanding Poverty in Brunei Darussalam’, and my recent engagement with the private sector on climate change and poverty – I made the following observations:

We cannot eradicate what we do not fully understand: Do we really understand what poverty actually is?  Poverty is complex, far more profound than what is commonly seen or spoken about in our societies. In many cases, poverty remains not well understood, especially by those who have never experienced it firsthand. This motivated us to publish an article on the characteristics of poverty, downloaded more than 71,000 times since May 2020, and was part of my PhD research on poverty in Brunei Darussalam. Without a deep and nuanced understanding of poverty, we cannot eradicate it.

Poverty prevention is a critical but overlooked pillar of poverty eradication. Creating a society free of poverty requires a dual approach: lifting people who are currently poor out of poverty and preventing those who are non-poor from slipping into poverty and becoming the ‘new poor’. Current anti-poverty efforts, however, focus predominantly on those who are already living in poverty. The reality that many people are only one shock or crisis away from poverty is often overlooked. This neglect of poverty prevention renders poverty eradication efforts incomplete.

Even as poverty stubbornly persists, funding to address it continues to decline.  Poverty, as I blogged earlier here, continues to be deeply entrenched, with over one billion people, more than half of whom are children, living in multidimensional poverty for several consecutive years. At the same time, rising national debt and aid cuts are increasingly threatening efforts to eradicate poverty.

The growing role of the private sector in poverty eradication. Private companies are increasingly embracing responsible investment, shifting from a narrow focus on profit to a broader commitment to purpose. Many are now integrating the Sustainable Development Goals considerations into their operations.  Social issues, as Dambisa Moyo notes in her book How Boards Work,  are becoming increasingly prominent in boardroom decision-making. However, if companies are to meaningfully contribute to eradicating poverty, their efforts must be rooted in a deep, nuanced understanding of it.

Lack of access to clean cooking remains a persistent reality of poverty, despite renewed global momentum. Unclean cooking (cooking poverty), as I shared here,  has become the new face of global poverty. According to the 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index report, of the 1.1 billion people living in acute multidimensional poverty from 109 countries, 970 million lack access to clean cooking. In recent years, there has been renewed global momentum on eradicating the lack of access to clean cooking. However, one important question remains: will this momentum translate into the eradication of cooking poverty? There is, without doubt, still a long way to go. Despite the impressive numbers of improved cookstoves reported to have been distributed by private companies, NGOs and governments (see here, here and here, for example), their adoption remains a major challenge, as reported here and here. Distribution does not automatically translate into sustained use. True progress depends on organic, sustained adoption, raising a critical question: whose adoption counts, and under what conditions?

Empathy matters in the fight against poverty. In her recent book, ‘The Empathy Fix’, Dr Keetie Roelen reminds us that empathy is a fundamental driver of effective poverty eradication. Indeed, success in ending poverty in all its forms depends not only on policies and resources, but also on our collective ability to connect deeply with the lived realities of people experiencing poverty and to make decisions that genuinely reflect and address their needs. There remains, however, a significant deficit in empathy, which continues to contribute to the persistence of poverty.

My Priorities for 2026

I remain deeply committed to helping to end poverty in all its forms. Building on the reflections above, my priorities for 2026 focus on:

1. Continuing to contribute to an improved understanding of Poverty: Through research, dialogue and knowledge sharing, I will continue to support a deeper and more nuanced understanding of poverty. In this regard, last month, I joined a global team working on the thirteen(13)-volume Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Poverty, where I am contributing, for the first volume, three chapters focusing on the complexity of poverty, child poverty and the ‘new poor’. In addition, my co-author, Mufarowashe Bungare (a social work student at Africa University), and I are contributing a chapter to the Springer Nature Handbook on Poverty and Social Work, focusing on how child poverty shapes social work practice.

• Championing organic adoption of improved cookstoves in rural areas:  Whose adoption counts? It is that of households that truly matters. With this in mind, I am currently engaged in two research projects. The first examines how clean cooking could help to end poverty in all its forms. When clean cooking interventions are embedded within broader poverty eradication strategies, both the eradication of the ‘new face’ of poverty (unclean cooking) and the organic adoption of clean cooking solutions become more achievable. The second project is a systematic review of the adoption of improved cookstoves in rural areas, aimed at strengthening the evidence base relating to the drivers of organic adoption.

• Supporting the private sector to ground social impact in a nuanced understanding of poverty. At the heart of social impact is the pursuit of a good quality of life, a life free from poverty (hardships or sufferings). As highlighted earlier, social issues are becoming increasingly central to investment decisions. To support this shift, I am in discussions with Palgrave Macmillan about writing a book on ‘profit with purpose’, intended to serve as a guide for companies in their quest to achieve meaningful social impact.

• Strengthening institutional capacity for poverty eradication. I am available to support governments, NGOs, private companies and social enterprises in designing, implementing and scaling evidence-based, inclusive and sustainable poverty eradication interventions. Through technical support, research and strategic advisory services, I aim to help institutions translate evidence into effective, lasting action.

Ultimately, lasting progress in poverty eradication depends on our willingness to listen, learn and act with empathy. Through these priorities, I seek to help ensure that policies, interventions and investments are shaped by the lived realities of those they are meant to serve.