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A new World Bank report has put Africa’s poverty rate at 43 per cent compared to a previous figure of 56 per cent. The World Bank Vice President, Africa Region, Mr. Makhtar Diop said during a video conference on End Poverty Day that the latest estimates came as “good news in the context where we have decay of solid growth in Africa averaging 5 per cent.” “But while we are saying that, we have a lot of work to do because we still have a larger number of poor people in Africa, hundreds of millions,” he added. He said the report represented the most recent poverty data available and seeks to highlight the need to know the determinants of poverty in Africa. However, he said much of the progress in poverty reduction came from the non income dimension of poverty which witnessed improvement in literacy and child mortality rates as well as increase in life expectancy in the continent. The Vice President further noted that the new figures were still a far cry compared to what is obtainable in other developing countries. He said poverty eradication should not be limited to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but seen as foremost demand from the people of Africa. “As society becomes more and more open, people are voicing the needs and wants for more inclusive growth,” he said in a video conference from Ghana.   Source: ThisDay Newspaper
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This article was first published on 19th October 2015

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Ejura Salihu is an Anatomist, Writer and Editor. She is currently the Editor-in-chief for Connect Nigeria. You can contact her via email: ejurasalihu24@gmail.com or follow her on twitter @icyquin_msc

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