Poverty is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Currently, one in ten people in the world lives in extreme poverty. This means that a person considered to be poor has a maximum of 1.90 US dollars per day for food, rent, clothing and all other daily expenses. In addition, people in extreme poverty often live in rural regions without connection to a functioning infrastructure and thus have even fewer opportunities for social and economic advancement. In Germany, approximately one in six people was considered poor in 2017. In contrast to extreme poverty, in Germany you are considered poor if you have less than 60 percent of the median income. Thus, anyone with a monthly income of €840 or less is considered poor. Single parents, the unemployed, people with a migration background and the elderly or sick are particularly affected by poverty. Every fifth child grows up in poverty. The consequences of poverty are felt globally in our politically and economically interdependent world. Poverty therefore affects each and every one of us. Overcoming poverty is an overarching goal of international policy for sustainable development and thus part of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Agenda 2030, the UN’s Global Sustainability Agenda, is based on a holistic understanding of poverty. This means that poverty is understood multidimensionally. It is not just about income, but also about how people can generally participate in social life, education and a healthcare system. It is about what opportunities they have from the very beginning of their lives. Combating poverty thus means, for example, strengthening social justice, improving health care for all people and enabling equal access to quality education and work. SDG 1 can therefore be found in all 17 goals.

SDG 1 is to be achieved through improved development cooperation. To this end, resources from a variety of sources are to be mobilized to provide developing and least developed countries with sufficient and predictable funding to implement programs and policies to end poverty. Poverty-focused and gender-sensitive development strategies are to be created at the national, regional, and international levels to make, accelerate, and support investments in poverty eradication activities.