Given the millions of lives at stake, we must pinpoint where social services are most needed and ensure that the social protection programs are evidence-based and inclusive. Research from the International Growth Centre, directed by the London School of Economics and University of Oxford, shows that while social assistance is the main tool to lift people out of poverty, most of the lowest-income people are left behind due to mistargeting and low data quality.

Furthermore, social protection systems must be multifaceted, moving beyond short-term help and instead support people to lift themselves from poverty for the long run. “What idea is bigger than the idea that the poorest of the poor have enough talent to be self-sufficient, that if you give them a push, they’ll stay up?” Abhijit Banerjee said in his Nobel Prize lecture in 2019.

Solutions like holistic anti-poverty interventions and rapid assessments are most likely to be effective when local governments are involved in both consultation and implementation.