Sustainable Poverty Escapes
Poverty reduction is not a one-way street; some households that escape poverty fall back into it, and some dip in and out of poverty over time.

Poverty is a dynamic phenomenon; while some people remain in poverty for long periods of time, over the same period others escape poverty, others fall into poverty and yet others escape poverty and fall back into it. In other words, poverty reduction is not a one-way street.
Research on the alarming rates at which people are escaping and then falling back into poverty in the face of shocks and stresses underscores the broader relevance of resilience to sustainably reducing hunger, poverty and malnutrition. It also highlights the need to look at the compound nature of shocks and stresses over time, including the everyday shocks and stresses that inhibit the ability of households and communities to sustainably escape poverty.
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The South Asian, agriculture-based nation of Nepal experienced considerable poverty reduction over the last two decades, from 63.8 percent in...
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The USAID Center for Resilience commissioned the Overseas Development Institute, in...
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The Asia Resilience Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Workshop was held in Bangkok, Thailand from July 11-14, 2017. The USAID Center for Resilience (C4R) through the Resilience Evaluation, Analysis and Learning (REAL) Award supported the training event, to provide participants with...
Urban ContextShock Responsive ProgramsSustainable Poverty EscapesEvidence and AnalysisNepalBangladeshCambodiaPhilippines -
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The evidence, and the resulting discussion, presented during the 2017 Resilience Evidence Forum — hosted in Washington D.C. by the USAID Center for Resilience — are presented in the Resilience Evidence Forum Report.
Conflict and FragilityUrban ContextCollaboration and Collective ImpactValue for MoneySustainable Poverty EscapesDiversify Livelihood RisksSocial ProtectionGraduationSocial CapitalFinancial InclusionHuman CapitalAspirationsGender EquitySocial InclusionEcosystems and Natural Resource Management -
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A devastating drought or other shock can force small-scale farmers in developing economies to sell off assets or cut meals and other consumption to cope. Even the risk of a shock can stifle their future by pushing them to underinvest in profitable but risky activities like cotton farming.
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While poverty overall has declined in the last few decades, extreme poverty has become more concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. During this time, research has built a wealth of new knowledge about the conditions that keep some households in poverty, and the long-term negative consequences of...
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A single drought, flood of other disaster could wipe out the means they have to feed themselves. For agricultural families, even a risk of these disasters can create hardship. A family’s future can depend on the tools they have to manage these risks.
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Health intersects with resilience and sustained poverty escapes in at least three ways. Poor health reduces well-being and can be a shock or stressor at the individual, household, community or systems level. It can also act as an important form of human capital, a resilience capacity that...
Sustainable Poverty EscapesHealthTanzaniaNigerMalawiEthiopiaUgandaKenyaPhilippinesNepalCambodiaBangladesh -
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Recent research commissioned by the USAID Center for Resilience and conducted by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) examined why some households escape and remain out of poverty (sustainable poverty escape), while other households escape only to fall back into poverty (transitory poverty...
Sustainable Poverty EscapesBangladeshCambodiaNepalPhilippines -
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Since 2000 Malawi has achieved four of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) including those on reducing child mortality and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. The country started the MDGs with a particularly low base compared to other countries, making achievement of ...
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The USAID Center for Resilience commissioned the Overseas Development Institute, in conjunction with the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network (CPAN), to conduct...
Sustainable Poverty EscapesNiger -
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Cambodia experienced rapid and sustained economic growth averaging nearly eight percent per year between 1994 and 2015, ranking sixth in the world for growth and attaining middle income status in 2015. This is matched by impressive poverty reduction, which fell from 52 percent in 2004 to 13.5...
Sustainable Poverty EscapesCambodia