​There has been much talk in the post-2015 discussions about ‘getting to zero’ by 2030 – eradicating extreme poverty for the first time in human history. The MDGs have been part of an unprecedented global effort to halve the number of people living in such poverty, but the third international Chronic Poverty Report warns that ‘more of the same’ will not get us close to zero. It argues that business-as-usual approaches to poverty reduction could risk leaving up to one billion people living in extreme poverty in 2030.

This event will bring together the Chronic Poverty Report’s lead authors, commentaries from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, and developing country and international policy makers as discussants. The report provides answers to the question: what needs to be done to get to (or close to) zero extreme poverty?

The report presents a tripartite challenge to the world: countries need to tackle chronic poverty, stop impoverishment and assist people escaping poverty to sustain those escapes. All three are needed if the eradication of extreme poverty is to be sustained, and all three require massive global investment.