A Christian charity is urging people not to give up hope that extreme poverty can one day be a thing of the past.
Compassion UK, which supports child development in deprived parts of the world, has issued a message of hope in time for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty today.
Research by the charity found that many UK adults are not so optimistic - even those who are Christian.
According to a survey carried out by Savanta ComRes on behalf of Compassion, only around half of UK adults (49%) believe it is possible to end extreme poverty worldwide.
This rose to 59% among Christians, showing that a sizable minority of believers still need some convincing.
Among Christians, only 58% thought that the eradication of extreme poverty is a priority for the world at present.
Compassion said that Covid "posed a huge setback" to efforts to reduce poverty and that the world is "going backwards", with an estimated 10 per cent of the global population living on just $2.15 a day.
It said the survey results "point to an urgent need for action".
Mark Preston, Compassion UK's Senior Director of Partnerships, said, "We need hope to drive our fight against poverty. In fact, it's more important than ever not to lose hope. While Covid has put a spanner in the works of poverty eradication, now is the time we need to take action to make sure this setback isn't permanent."
Noirine Khaitsa is a symbol of that hope for Compassion, a charity that partners with thousands of churches to provide opportunities for children and young people, like vocational training and life skills courses.
Khaitsa grew up in poverty in Uganda and is now a senior manager at the country's Compassion offices.
She said, "There is hope in the fight to eradicate poverty – I have myself as an example for that. The local church knows their community and are able to care for and care about children and families affected by poverty.
"At the end of the day, a child in poverty needs a safe community around them, that is encouraging them and that is applying relevant holistic support like education, medical treatment and income generation training. Locally-led programmes help achieve this."
Mr Preston added, "Here at Compassion, we believe the church has a crucial role to play in addressing extreme poverty and we're encouraged by the impact right now. There is a transformative and exponential impact in a locally-led approach. This gives us hope in the fight against poverty."
He continued, "The church hasn't forgotten the poor. In fact, far from it – God's church is His hands and feet to tackle poverty. Our UK church partners are addressing poverty in their own communities through food banks and warm spaces and also standing shoulder to shoulder with the church across the world, supporting them financially and through prayer."
