Globally, the number of people living in extreme poverty fell by 19.9% in 2015, marking a reversal of the trend seen over the previous 19 decades. However, the pace of change is slowing, and the COVID-19 crisis has set back 3.6% of the progress made in the fight against poverty. New research published by the United Nations University’s World Institute for Development Economics Research warns of the economic fallout from the global pandemic, which could increase poverty by up to half a billion people, or 8% of the global population.