Between 1990 and 2001, the number of people in sub-Saharan Africa living on less than $1 a day rose from 227 million to 313 million, and the poverty rate rose from 45 percent to 46 percent. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of undernourishment in the world, with one-third of the population below the minimum level of nourishment.
Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are:
- Crippled by disease
- Exposed to drought-prone climates
- Located in areas not suitable for irrigation
- Tackling extreme isolation in mountains and landlocked regions
- Suffering from poor infrastructure
In 2000, the nations of the world committed to the Millennium Development Goals. These Goals were agreed to by every country in the world and set time-bound and measurable targets for halving extreme poverty by 2015. In 2005, at the World Summit leaders from all 191 UN member states recommitted to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, while leaders at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles agreed to double aid to Africa to $50 billion per year by 2010 (roughly $70 per African per year) and to cancel debts for the poorest countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa is at the greatest risk of not achieving the Goals and is struggling to progress on almost every dimension of poverty, including hunger, lack of education, and prevalent disease.
The Millennium Villages seek to end extreme poverty by working with the poorest of the poor, village by village throughout Africa, in partnership with governments and other committed stakeholders, providing affordable and science-based solutions to help people lift themselves out of extreme poverty.