One afternoon in the early 1990s, a group of pupils at the primary school I attended performed a drama about the Tsotso (twigs) stove (an improved biomass cookstove) to raise awareness about clean cooking. The message was simple: the open fires or simple metal stoves used for cooking in our villages were harmful and contributing …
Tag: Poverty Eradication
Advancing Poverty Eradication: Reflections and My Priorities for 2026
Fieldwork in Southeast Asia, 2016: Engaging with lived experiences 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 …
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Child Poverty: The Global Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight
Reading the 2025 Child Poverty in Australia report, I found myself wondering: How often do we actually talk about children living in poverty? Certainly nowhere near as much as we should! Too often, in fact, children in poverty remain on the margins, both within academic research and in practice. Granted, there are studies on child …
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Poverty’s Stubborn Persistence, Clean Cooking and Climate Change: The 2025 Global Poverty Wake-Up Call that No One Can Afford to Ignore
Global poverty remains stubbornly persistent. The just-released 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report delivers a hard truth: the world is losing the war on poverty. In previous years, as I blogged earlier here, the number of people living in acute multidimensional poverty has hovered above 1 billion, and nothing much has changed today: 1.1 …
Carbon projects could indeed help end poverty, but only if they are rooted in the right poverty worldview
In my efforts to contribute to poverty eradication, I have heard stories of large sums of money being given to the poor and considerable support for livelihoods as a strategy for eradicating poverty. I have also witnessed significant investments in education, which is regarded as a key solution to poverty. I have observed, too, many …
Carbon Credits, Rural Gains: Zimbabwe’s New Path to Ending Poverty
As the urgency of the global climate crisis intensifies, carbon credits are emerging as one of the most promising market-driven solutions to climate change. However, behind every carbon credit lies a rural community, often in the Global South, where poverty is deeply entrenched. These communities not only provide a conducive environment for implementing carbon projects …
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Nature-based Solutions: A transformative pathway to ending poverty
As I was exploring the potential focus for my MA thesis, I had the opportunity to consult with Professor Robert Chambers to discuss my ideas and get his insights on them. What was foremost on my mind was the issue of seasonal poverty or seasonality, prompted by Robert Chamber's work on the topic, the discussions …
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Now that the COP29 dust has settled, a silo approach to tackling climate change and poverty will not effectively address either challenge
Photo credit: IIED As I write this blog, Cyclone Chido is calming down in Zimbabwe, my home country, after causing significant destruction of houses, infrastructure and livelihoods, as well as injuries and tragic loss of life in Mayotte, Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi, as reported here, here, here and here. The cyclone comes on the heels …
The 2024 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index Report is out! What does it reveal about global poverty and efforts to eradicate it?
On the 17th October 2024, the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (Global MPI) report was unveiled. The release date of the report was, I strongly believe, intentional since October 17 marks the International Day for Poverty Eradication, a momentous day when, as I blogged here, countries worldwide take stock of their poverty eradication efforts and reaffirm …
The forthcoming book, ‘Empathy Fix’ by Dr Keetie Roelen, promises to contribute significantly to poverty eradication
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 …
Blessing Gweshengwe PhD 