How coronavirus set back the global fight against extreme poverty

Pandemic is reversing two decades of progress in raising living standards

Argentinians wait for covid tests
Pandemic is reversing two decades of progress in raising living standards
(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

The coronavirus pandemic threatens to upend 20 years of progress in the campaign to tackle extreme poverty across the globe, according to a study by the World Bank.

The economic impact of Covid-19 is expected “to push an additional 88 million to 115 million people into extreme poverty this year, with the total rising to as many as 150 million by 2021”, the new report says.

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