CSR can offer a strong role in poverty relief.

Byline: NAZIR AHMED SHAIKH

Poverty is an economic condition and applies to those whose income falls below the poverty line, which is the income needed to meet one's basic needs such as food, water, shelter and clothing. Other factors can be taken into consideration, such as economic stability, income security, and the predictability of an individual's continued means to meet basic needs. While poverty is something that crosses all borders, countries' poverty rates can differ widely. The poverty rate is the percentage of adults in a country that fall below the poverty line. Once a country has a high percentage of its population that lives under the poverty line, it can be incredibly difficult to reduce it. To do so would require improving education, health care, and the economy, all of which require money poor countries often do not have. It is also necessary to stress that many nations with a high poverty rate are in conflict. To counter these difficulties, international organizations (such as the United Nations) have started progrms

to help countries with high poverty rates transition toward peace and pay for improving infrastructure.

Global poverty estimates were updated on March 29, 2023, on the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP). This update includes new regional poverty aggregates in 2020 and 2021 for Latin America and the Caribbean, and in 2020 for Europe and Central Asia, and the group of advanced countries. These are the regions for which we now have sufficient survey data available during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 113 new country years have been added, bringing the total number of surveys to more than 2,100.

According to World Bank, the countries with the highest poverty rates in the world are South Sudan - 82.30% Equatorial Guinea - 76.80% Madagascar - 70.70%.

Current scenario

Poverty alleviation is one of the most pressing issues in Pakistan too. According to the World Bank, almost a quarter of the country's population lives below the poverty line. As of 2023, poverty in Pakistan is expected to reach 37.2 percent ($3.65 /day 2017ppp). The rate is slightly below the last observed measure in 2018, which stood at 39.8 percent; however, when accounting for population growth, there are almost 3 million more poor people in the country than in 2018. In Pakistan, the proportion of the employed population below $1.90 purchasing power parity a day in 2021 is 3.7%.

There are several ways in which poverty can be alleviated, including government policies, international aid, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Poverty alleviation is a critical issue in Pakistan, where a significant portion of the population lives below the poverty line. Several approaches can be taken to address poverty in Pakistan, and corporate social...