Sustainability and Poverty Link (HL only)

This topic explains how poverty and sustainable development are tightly connected: lasting poverty eradication requires social, economic and environmental sustainability working together. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) place ending poverty first and set time-bound targets (for example the international extreme poverty line of US$1.90 per day). The text examines causes of persistent poverty (limited education, reliance on primary sectors, gender gaps, infrastructure shortfalls and climate shocks) and discusses how policies and international partnerships can address these barriers.