Having traveled to the field for my work with Heifer, I’ve seen true poverty firsthand. Heck, I can find poverty within my own neighborhood. So I know what it looks like. But just how is it measured?

Photo by Brooke Edwards, courtesy of Heifer International.

The World Bank, which measures a lot of data points in more than 200 countries and has a very thorough website specifically for sharing their data, has a video that explains how they measure poverty.

It’s important to measure things that you’d like to end. If we’re going to end poverty, we have to know where we’re starting from. But I feel like this video really leaves some major considerations out. It appears income and consumption are the primary measures of wellbeing. So, once a family earns enough income and consumes enough goods, they’re considered “above” the poverty line. But are they really out of poverty? Just how easily can they fall right back “below” the poverty line?

At Heifer, we work hard to ensure our participants – individuals, families and communities – truly move out of poverty so they aren’t likely to fall back into poverty. We do this by helping them build assets, grow savings and develop real security. These accomplishments allow them to be more resilient to things like natural disasters or an illness in the family.

Freedom from poverty in Malawi. Photo by Jake Lyell, courtesy of Heifer International.

What do you think about how poverty is measured? What else seems to be missing? Tell us in the comments section below.