May 16, 2018
From the article:
CANBERRA — The 2018 Australasian Aid Conference, hosted by the Development Policy Centre and The Asia Foundation in Canberra on Feb. 13 and 14, brought together development and humanitarian researchers and professionals to discuss and debate the current state of aid.
From understanding economic conditions that lead to government instability to health, gender, and the modern objective of Australian and Asian donors, here are the key takeaways from two days of insightful discussion.
In targeting poverty, we can’t ignore the strugglers
Poverty is one of the most important development challenges donors and NGOs aim to address — so much so that ending poverty is goal #1 in the Sustainable Development Goals. But Nancy Birdsall, president emeritus of the Center for Global Development, said it is also crucial to reach “strugglers,” those who are above the $1.90 poverty line but at risk of falling below it.
Strugglers, she explained, earn between $4 and $10 per day. They have a highly volatile economic situation and are easily shaken by changes in household conditions or unexpected costs, making them deeply vulnerable.