“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

When we talk about poverty, we often picture an empty wallet, a lack of food, or a crumbling shelter. But poverty is more than that. Poverty is being unseen. It’s being unheard. It’s the silence that grows when the world turns its back. It’s the uncomfortable truth we scroll past, the crisis we pretend is too complex to fix. And the longer we look away, the deeper the scars become.

Yes, global progress has been made. According to the World Bank, more people have technically escaped extreme poverty than ever before. But the full story is harder to swallow. When the numbers are adjusted to reflect new data and realities, we find that the world is actually poorer than we thought. In 2025, more than 808 million people will still live in extreme poverty. That’s not a statistic, that’s one in every ten people struggling to meet the most basic human needs; food, clothing, shelter.

And the picture is even darker when we move beyond the minimum threshold. At the poverty line of $8.30 per day, over 3.7 billion people, nearly half of humanity, are still living in deprivation. These people may not show up in headline statistics, but they face daily struggles that erode their dignity, limit their potential, and steal their future.

So why do we act like poverty is fading away? Why do we treat it like a number on a graph instead of a humanitarian emergency? The reality is, we’ve grown too comfortable with inequality. We’ve normalized suffering. And in doing so, we’ve created a world where poverty is no longer shocking; it’s expected.

The Middle East and North Africa tell a very different story than the global average. While global poverty has declined since 2010, poverty in MENA has actually increased. In 2025, it’s projected that 9.4 percent of people in the region will be living in extreme poverty, more than double the rate from 2010. At the higher poverty line of $4.20, poverty jumped from 11.7 percent in 2010 to 15.7 percent in 2021. And even at the $8.30 line, nearly half the region’s population remains affected.

These numbers don’t happen in a vacuum. They are the result of conflict, displacement, broken systems, and economic collapse. Syria and Yemen are prime examples. Civil war has not only destroyed infrastructure but dismantled entire economies. In Syria alone, nine out of ten people now live in poverty. The country’s GDP has collapsed. Unemployment has tripled. One in four Syrians can’t find work, and public services are in ruins. How can development even begin in such conditions?

And let’s not forget Lebanon, where financial and political crises have devastated the population. Today, more than 75 percent of children in Lebanon live in food poverty. One in five are suffering from severe food poverty. This isn’t just hunger, it’s a threat to a generation’s future.

We have to understand that poverty is never just about income

It shows up in many forms; hunger, malnutrition, lack of education, social exclusion, unsafe housing, gender inequality. It’s about not having a say in decisions that affect your life. In 2015, over 736 million people were living below the international poverty line. That number has shifted, but the suffering hasn’t. Back then, there were 122 women aged 25 to 34 living in poverty for every 100 men. And unless we change course, more than 160 million children will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030.

This is why SDG 1: ending poverty in all its forms, sits at the very top of the 2030 Agenda. It’s not just a goal. It’s a prerequisite for everything else: education, health, peace, climate action. Target 1.A is clear. We need strong policies, increased financing, international cooperation, and equitable access to resources if we’re going to create real, lasting change.

But it’s not just about policy. Poverty has very real, very personal consequences. Families under financial strain experience more stress, more conflict, more instability. Children growing up in poverty are more likely to drop out of school, more likely to fall behind, and less likely to escape the cycle. The schools they attend are often underfunded and overcrowded, which further limits their potential. Their circumstances today define their opportunities tomorrow.

And it goes even deeper. Poverty is tied to crime. Not because poor people are inherently criminal, but because stress, marginalization, and broken systems lead to desperation. Many poor communities are located in high-crime neighborhoods, where violence is normalized and opportunities are scarce. People from these backgrounds also make up the bulk of those arrested, convicted, and imprisoned for street crimes. It’s a systemic trap, and it doesn’t let go easily.

So here we are: in a world where half the planet is still struggling, where conflict and poverty fuel each other, and where a child’s future is still determined by their birthplace. And yet, we keep calling it a “development issue” instead of what it really is: a human emergency.

Yes, accurate poverty measurement is a milestone. But it’s only the start. We need household surveys, yes. But more than that, we need political courage, community action, global solidarity, and moral clarity. We need to stop pretending that poverty is someone else’s problem. Because it’s not.

Poverty is a catastrophe. It’s global, it’s growing, and it’s deeply human. It’s not just about what’s missing from someone’s wallet. It’s about what’s missing from our collective priorities. And unless we start listening, acting, and caring, not someday, but now, we’ll be leaving behind a legacy of failure for the generations that follow.

SO THE QUESTION IS:

How long will we keep looking away before we finally decide that every life, no matter where it begins, deserves dignity, opportunity, and hope?