Tony Chukwunyem 
Unequal and limited access to jobs, finance, and public services such as education and healthcare have increased inequality and stalled poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new World Bank report released yesterday.
The report, “Leveling the Playing Field: Addressing Structural Inequalities to Accelerate Poverty Reduction in Africa,” explains that structural inequalities, based on factors like birthplace, ethnicity, gender, and parental background, as well as market and institutional distortions, create advantages for a few and disadvantages for many.
Consequently, Africa, according to the report, is the world’s second most unequal region after Latin America, and the only one where extreme poverty reduction has stalled in recent years.
“While extreme poverty – defined as people who live on less than $2.15 a day – has rapidly declined globally to single digits, Africa’s extreme poverty rate stood at 38 per cent in 2022, the highest among all regions.
While the region today hosts 60 per cent of the globe’s extremely poor population, this share could rise to 87 per cent by 2030, without significant reforms,” it added.
The report suggests that poverty reduction strategies should focus on broadening opportunities. For instance, beginning in the early 2000s, Ethiopia expanded land user rights, helping to promote investment in agriculture.
Market-friendly financial products, such as mobile money in Kenya, helped to boost financial inclusion and households’ ability to cope with shocks.
In Ghana, investments in primary education led to increases in completion rates, while partial market liberalization of the cocoa sector, along with investment in research, disease control, and credit programs, led to increases in agricultural incomes.
“There is nothing inevitable about structural inequalities. As successful country examples show, barriers to opportunities can be removed and replaced with well-designed policies that allow people to build their productive capacities and open access to jobs and markets,” said Nistha Sinha, co-author of the report.
