In the media
The cost of the pandemic to the poor – media on new research on impact of COVID-19 on global poverty

In a new paper, researchers from UNU-WIDER, Kings College London, and the Australian National University confirmed recent estimates on the shocking impact of COVID-19 on global poverty. They called on global leaders to take urgent action to avert a spike in global poverty that could undo decades of hard-won progress towards SDG 1.

The estimates, released on the day G7 meetings were originally scheduled to close before being postponed, predict that the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic could increase the global poverty headcount by over half a billion. 

The research findings, published in 'Precarity and the Pandemic' authored by Andy Sumner, Chris Hoy, and Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez, were featured in leading media outlets including the The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Independent. They have since featured in over 70 news articles. In an opinion piece in The Independent Voices, Andy Sumner proposed a three-step plan for global leaders. In The Conversation, the authors called for greater coverage and funding of social safety-nets globally.

Access a selection of the online coverage below.

Online news coverage (in English)

Aljazeera | Number of extreme poor 'could rise to 1.1 billion'

Devex | Middle-income countries at risk of dramatic increases in poverty, report finds

Inter Press Service | Q&A: Global Poverty Expected to Move to Middle Income Developing Nations in Asia

The Economist | The pandemic is plunging millions back into extreme poverty

Other languages

In Portuguese  
BBC

In Hindi 
The Standard

In German 
Reuters

In Norwegian 
Aftenposten