It is estimated 700 million people or 10% of the population, are living in extreme poverty, without the essentials in life such as clean water and sanitation, healthcare, and education. Globally, extreme poverty exists more in rural areas up to 17.2% higher than urban areas. Even employed people are not exempt from living in extreme poverty.
The poorest and most vulnerable need to have access to economic resources, basic services, land and property ownership, technology and financial services. The poorest and most vulnerable need protection from climate change extreme events, any impacts from economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters that may occur.
The UN has a framework for responding to COVID-19 and is asking for financial and political help to ensure essential services and social protection to support the poorest and most vulnerable individuals. The UN COVID-19 response and recovery fund aims to support low and middle-income countries, as well as the vulnerable groups. It is hoped the richer countries can collaborate together and help impact the problems of the pandemic and ignite a global consciousness to benefit all humanity.
Find out more about Goal 1: No poverty.
Teaching and learning
The root causes of poverty are many and complex and at the University of Liverpool, students are able to explore these causes and solutions from a number of different perspectives within course modules. Examples of course modules that have a direct or indirect focus on poverty (as assessed by students) include:
- Ethics in healthcare decision-making (LAW536)
- Living with environmental change (ENVS119)
- Understanding social exclusion (ENVS357).
We recognise that there is much more to do to equip students with the knowledge and skills that they need to make a contribution to achieving this global goal. Working with the Guild of Students our undergraduate and postgraduate students have the opportunity to audit their curriculum modules for their relevance to SDG1:No poverty and to make recommendations for changes to the course content. For more information on how students can get involved see the Guild curriculum audit report.
The University has also recently established an Education for Sustainable Development Working Group. This group brings together academics, students and representatives from our Centre for Innovation in Education to develop a strategic plan for embedding SDGs into the curriculum including SDG1.
There are also a number of other ways students can support the aims and objectives of SDG1 through extra-curricula activities, including through volunteering opportunities provided by the Guild of Students.
Research and knowledge exchange
The University contributes to the identification of the root problems that cause poverty and the potential solutions across many areas of research. Some key examples are:
- Liverpool Beyond the Brink - The Re-Making of a Post-Imperial City
- Poverty dynamics and health in late childhood in the UK: evidence from the ‘Millennium Cohort Study’
- ‘Child health unravelling in UK’ article published by the British Medical Journal
- N8 Agrifood funded pump priming projects
Leadership, governance and professional services
We can all face financial difficulties from time to time or need extra support to access opportunities. The University’s Student and Employee support services provide a number of services including financial advice, bursaries, grants and loans to help us through these times.
Staff and student support services include:
We encourage university staff to give their time to supporting local charities through our Liv to Giv programme:
We help to encourage, inspire and provide opportunities for young people to access higher education and to help create local jobs and employment, for example
We are an accredited Living Wage Employer
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