Some 4.17 crore people in Bangladesh are living in extreme poverty, with 6.5% of the population facing severely dire conditions, according to a latest report. The report, titled “Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2024: Poverty Amid Conflict”, was published jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative of the Oxford University on Thursday, and paints a grim picture of the nation's poverty crisis. It identifies poor living standards as the largest contributor to Bangladesh's poverty rate, accounting for 45.1% of the poverty index. Education and health factors also play significant roles, contributing 37.6% and 17.3%, respectively. Globally, the report reveals that 110 crore people are living in extreme poverty, with nearly half residing in conflict-affected regions. A staggering 83% of those living in extreme poverty are found in African and South Asian countries, further highlighting the regional challenges. Two in three children under five in Bangladesh face food poverty: UNICEF In South Asia, an alarming 27.2 crore people live in households where at least one member suffers from malnutrition, underscoring the severe health and nutritional issues that compound poverty in the region. This latest UNDP report calls attention to the urgent need for targeted interventions to address the root causes of poverty and improve living conditions for millions in Bangladesh and beyond.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Monday said extreme poverty rate will come down to 3 percent by 2030 and that the country will be free of poverty after 2041. "Once 80 percent people were poor in Bangladesh but now the poverty rate stands at 20 percent thanks to good initiatives. The Sheikh Hasina government laid emphasis on eliminating poverty from the country in 2009," he said at the unwrapping ceremony of the book titled "Sheikh Hasina Sarker" at Jatiya Press Club in the capital. Momen said Bangladesh needs the incumbent government for its further development. Also read: SANEM survey: Population below poverty line doubled, extreme poor trebled in 2020 "Once our annual average growth rate was 2.2 percent. Now it’s 6.9 percent. It's an unbelievable development. Bangabandhu brought freedom and his daughter fulfilled his dreams," he said. Momen said Bangladesh once faced serious food crisis. The government announced to resolve the problem providing subsidy in agriculture sector. Now there is no food crisis. "Earlier, power cuts were common [but now] the government has increased power production to 24,000MW from 2009-2020," the minister added. The Foreign Minister said the government took lots of initiatives to make the population skilled to eliminate unemployment. Besides, the government took steps to tackle climate change impact. He said that is why the Prime Minister won champion of the earth award and earned the respect of the global audience. Also read: PM vows to wipe out poverty through united efforts About Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka, Momen said we are honoured that he chose Bangladesh to be his first tour abroad since the coronavirus outbreak. He added that 65 countries sent messages to appreciate Bangladesh. They also appreciated Sheikh Hasina for the Rohingya response. Momen highlighted Bangladesh’s development and said the country currently has a forex reserve of $44 billion and is regarded as a leader in South Asia. Also read: COVID-19 could push over 1 bln into extreme poverty: UNDP The author of the book Razu Alim said he tried to include various information about the government of Sheikh Hasina in his book. Jatiya Press Club President Farida Yesmin and Awami League Office Secretary Biplob Barua were also present at the event.

The economic impact of COVID-19 on the world’s most populous region is threatening to further undermine efforts to improve diets and nutrition of nearly two billion people in Asia and the Pacific who were already unable to afford healthy diets prior to the pandemic, says a new report published on Wednesday by four specialized agencies of the United Nations.

More than 32 million of the world’s poorest people face being pulled back into extreme poverty because of COVID-19, leading UN economists said on Thursday, highlighting data showing that the pandemic is likely to cause the worst economic crisis in decades among least developed countries (LDCs).

An additional 207 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by severe long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the total number to more than 1 billion by 2030, according to a new study from the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Reversing setbacks to poverty reduction requires nations to work together for a resilient recovery, according to a new World Bank report.

An estimated 1 in 6 children – or 356 million globally – lived in extreme poverty before the pandemic, and this is set to worsen significantly, according to a new World Bank Group-Unicef analysis released on Tuesday.

The global hunger crisis caused by conflict and compounded by COVID-19 pandemic is moving into a dangerous phase, the head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more than 250 million people to the brink of starvation and dashed hopes of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030, a UN expert said in a report published on Tuesday.