Successful poverty reduction strategies elsewhere

CPJ’s Envisioning Canada Without Poverty campaign has ended. We thank CPJ members and supporters for contacting their MPs and sharing the important message that poverty must be addressed. Thanks to you, the campaign was a success. For new opportunities to get involved in the fight against poverty, check out CPJ’s new campaign: Dignity for All.

Ireland

Ireland is an example of a country that has been highly successful: in fact, it has even exceeded some of its targets. Based on widespread consultations, including input from people living in poverty, Ireland launched its national anti-poverty strategy in 1997. The government developed and implemented national action plans against poverty with specific poverty reduction targets and indicators to monitor progress. A number of institutional structures, such as an inter-departmental policy committee, were created to ensure that all departments involved in relevant policy areas would work together to reduce poverty.

Ireland’s strategy is supported by multi-year action plans with dedicated human and financial resources and is targeted toward specific populations that are found to be consistently poor or at risk of poverty, such as children, single parents and people with disabilities. The key objectives are to increase the labour market participation of those who are able to work and to enhance income security for those with severe work limitations. The government developed a comprehensive strategy aimed to meet these objectives and provide affordable housing, health care, income support, and education and training for the most vulnerable groups.

 Ireland reached its initial target to reduce considerably the number of people who were found to be consistently poor, which ranged from 9% to 15% in 1994 to under 5% to 10% over 1997-2007. Since the targets were met, the government’s most recent action plan for 2007-2016 set out its latest target to reduce consistent poverty to between 2% and 4% by 2010 and to eliminate it entirely by 2016. Ireland has shown the political will to fight poverty and put poverty reduction on its national agenda.

The United Kingdom

Another good example illustrating the success of a poverty reduction strategy is the United Kingdom’s multi-dimensional approach to reducing poverty and social exclusion. In 1999, then Prime Minister Tony Blair made a promise to reduce child poverty by 25% by 2005, by 50% by 2010 and to eradicate it completely by 2020. As it stands today, the government has achieved a 23% reduction in child poverty. The government recently renewed its commitment to eradicate child poverty and unveiled plans for a new Child Poverty Unit that will help reach its goal.

As part of the poverty reduction strategy, the government adopted a multi-pronged approach to address various factors contributing to poverty. The government has identified groups that are particularly disadvantaged or at risk of poverty and set out key objectives and measures to significantly reduce poverty and promote social inclusion. Some of the key objectives are: to enhance labour market participation, to support and promote financial security for families, to protect the most vulnerable people and to improve access to high-quality public services.

To meet these objectives, the government introduced several measures including: a national minimum wage; tax credits for low-income earners; measures to provide security and independence to seniors and people with disabilities; and increased spending on education, employment assistance measures, health and housing.

To measure progress, the government has created measurable goals, indicators, timelines and accountability structures. Since the poverty reduction strategy is founded on the premise that social and economic development should go hand in hand, the UK has benefited from strong economic and employment growth due to its significant progress in meeting the needs of the poor and the most socially excluded.