Inequalities and Poverty

IDS works with global partners to generate new knowledge and evidence to identify the underlying causes of inequalities and poverty in all their dimensions and the progressive policies and practices that can help bring about transformative change.

Eradicating extreme poverty remains one of the world’s most pressing challenges, and addressing it requires the rising economic, social and political inequalities that harm people in rich and poor countries alike to be tackled.

IDS has also played a prominent part in promoting an approach that puts power at the heart of development analysis and contributed to strengthening understanding of the relationship between power, gender, sexual rights and poverty.

We continue to provide new analysis on inequalities and poverty trends, particularly in relation to the expansion of digital technologies and their impact on the lives of the poorest and most marginalised, and the growth of global cities and what this means for both urban and rural livelihoods, social relations and sustainability. Moreover, we work with governments, civil society, businesses and many others to help ensure this analysis shapes policies and programmes such as social protection and cash transfers to reduce poverty and vulnerability and strengthen livelihoods including agriculture.

People

Deepta Chopra

Professorial Research Fellow

Keetie Roelen

IDS Honorary Associate

Jerker Edström

Research Fellow

Melissa Leach

Emeritus Fellow

John Gaventa

Research Fellow and Director, Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) programme

Danny Burns

Professorial Research Fellow

Sohela Nazneen

Research Fellow

Patricia Justino

Professorial Fellow

Programmes and centres

Projects

Recent work

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Showing 2749–2760 of 14908 results

Opinion

Saneha’s story: Why I care, and why you should too

She was on her way to Church. Saneha Kinza Iqbal, a 16-year-old girl, was abducted last month in Pakistan by a man helped by two accomplices. She was raised a Christian, he is Muslim. He is almost twice her age, married with 4 children. The police, immediately asked for assistance by the...

Claire Thomas

3 September 2020

Impact Story

Iraq: Covid-19 deepens pre-existing health disparities for minorities

The majority of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq come from Ezidi, Christian, Kaka’i and other religious minorities. Recently, these IDPs have been deprived of their livelihoods as well as emergency assistance due to the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, minimal health services are...

3 September 2020

Impact Story

Evidence-handling skills improve policymaking in Zanzibar

In much of our work, it takes time to discover if we have achieved the impacts hoped for. Just occasionally, that feedback comes more swiftly – as in the case of our capacity-building activities on evidence use in Zanzibar, where the impacts on policymaking appear to be almost immediate. Read...

3 September 2020

Opinion

Knowledge brokering must accompany research from the start

Impact support services that try to build the capacity of researchers and broker knowledge between academia, policy and practice need to be built into programmes from the start. This is one of the key messages coming out of a new review commissioned by the UKRI. Over the past decade we have...

2 September 2020

Impact Story

IDS research shapes enterprise development action in Africa

This past year has seen IDS expand our wide portfolio of long-term research on the private sector through dedicated work for the German development agency GIZ. We provided evidence to assess and shape its programme on enterprise development in East Africa – and in the process, stimulated...

1 September 2020

News

Research Fellow shortlisted for Newton Prize

IDS Research Fellow Stephen Devereux has been shortlisted for this year’s Newton Prize in his role as project lead on a UK – South Africa research partnership. Stephen Devereux, who is co-founder of the Centre for Social Protection at IDS and well-known for his work on food security, famine...

1 September 2020

News

IDS alum appointed CEO of Rwanda’s Green Fund

IDS alum, Teddy Mpinganzima Mugabo, has been appointed CEO of Rwanda’s Green Fund. The Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA) is a ground-breaking environment and climate change investment fund that provides targeted financial and technical support to contribute to Rwanda's vision of becoming a...

1 September 2020

Publication

COVID-19 and the African Energy Sector: Energy Insight

As elsewhere in the world, COVID-19 continues to ravage Africa, causing thousands of deaths and an unprecedented health crisis that is damaging to every aspect of the social and economic lives of millions of people. The energy sector is among the hardest hit, with far-reaching consequences for...

1 September 2020

Impact Story

A pathway to include the most marginalised in policymaking

If the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be meaningful, the knowledge of people in the world’s most marginalised communities must be included and new understandings generated. To that end, we have seen encouraging signs in planning and policy circles in India, following an IDS-led...

30 August 2020

Impact Story

Pakistan: sanitation workers’ protection in the wake of Covid-19

The majority of sanitation workers in Pakistan are from religious minorities, primarily Christian and Hindu. Sanitation work is low-paid and low-status, and street and sewer cleaners work daily to clean hospitals, clinics, streets and sewers without any personal protective equipment (PPE),...

28 August 2020

Why learn with us.

In an extraordinary time of challenge and change, we use more than 50 years of expertise to transform development approaches that create more equitable and sustainable futures. The work you do with us will help make progressive change towards universal development; to build and connect solidarities for collective action, locally and globally. The University of Sussex has been ranked 1st in the world for Development Studies for the past five years (QS World University Rankings by Subject).