Poverty Reduction Indicators

Steps:

• Define poverty reduction as improving living standards, health, education, and economic opportunities.
• Evaluate each change: Positive shifts in employment, life expectancy, and literacy signal better access to jobs, healthcare, and schooling, reducing poverty.
• Identify negative indicators: Rising infant mortality reflects poor health and nutrition, worsening poverty conditions.
• Select the option that opposes progress: B shows deterioration, not improvement.

Why B is correct:

• Infant mortality rate measures child survival; a rise indicates failing healthcare and nutrition, directly contradicting poverty alleviation per UN poverty metrics.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Higher employment provides income, lifting people out of poverty.
• C: Increased life expectancy shows better overall health and living conditions.
• D: Rising adult literacy enhances skills and opportunities, reducing poverty traps.

Final answer: B