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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Upcoming Event

Book launch: Poverty, Gender & Health in the Slums of Bangladesh

Join us for a launch event for Prof Sabina Faiz Rashid’s book Poverty, Gender and Health in the Slums of Bangladesh: Children of Crows, published by Routledge UK. Author Prof Sabina Faiz Rashid will read excerpts from her book, which is a compelling ethnographic exploration of the daily...

4 June 2024

Brief

Key Considerations: Effective Vaccine Rollout and Uptake in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone received its first shipment of 550,000 malaria vaccines in December 2023, marking a milestone for public health in a country that sees over two million hospital visits for malaria annually. Over the last 20 years, routine childhood vaccination in Sierra Leone has increased...

Abu Conteh & 3 others

15 May 2024

Working Paper

Social Protection in Nigeria: Analysing Capacities

BASIC Research Working Paper 23

This report describes findings of an analysis of capacities to deliver social protection in Nigeria. It focuses specifically on generating findings that will be useful to situations of protracted crisis, such as displacement due to conflict or climate shocks.

15 May 2024

Book Chapter

The Role of European Investment Bank (EIB) and National and Regional Development Banks in the Green Transformation

Climate Change in Regional Perspective

This chapter examines the important role that can be played by national and regional development banks in the green transformation. Our focus is on the European Investment Bank (EIB), but we argue that EIB’s effective mechanisms to fund the initiatives of the European Green Deal can be...

14 May 2024

Opinion

Can a new global wave of land redistribution emerge?

At the International Global Land Grabbing conference held recently in Bogota, Colombia, we held a ‘dialogue session’ with about 50 academics and activists, asking whether land redistribution had a future. I co-facilitated the session with Morgan Ody, the General Coordinator of La Via...

13 May 2024

News

Weaponising gendered disinformation across Africa 

Gendered disinformation is being used across Africa as a tactic to silence critics and exclude women from online civic discourses, new research shows. A new book ‘Digital Disinformation in Africa: Hashtag Politics, Power and Propaganda’ explores this further. It is written by Nkem...

10 May 2024

News

The global land grab is still taking place, landmark conference finds

Major land sales organised by states and businesses continue to cause problems for rural communities and indigenous groups, a landmark conference in Colombia has found. Over the past 20 years, more than 30 million hectares of agricultural land has been sold off around the world according...

10 May 2024

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).