Closing the Gap

Poverty Graduation (PG) is one of the most rigorously tested approaches to helping ultra-poor households build sustainable livelihoods. This evidence review examines previous literature on PG's impact, with a focus on evidence and evidence gaps around opportunities for increased effectiveness, scale, and cost-effectiveness when applying PG in the fragile and shock-affected contexts where Mercy Corps works. We identified four key opportunities: 

• Pairing PG with market systems strengthening and service delivery to expand viable livelihoods, scale, and the sustainability of the intervention.
• Adapting PG for adolescents and other marginalized groups to reduce barriers, improve inclusion, and support intergenerational gains.
• Prioritizing nutrition and food-security outcomes in food-insecure settings.
• Complementing PG with risk-informed programming to build resilience and protect gains against climate and conflict shocks.

Together, these opportunities can support implementers and programs to make PG more effective and efficient in fragile settings, while supporting aim to make PG more inclusive, scalable, and resilient—helping households and communities move beyond crisis response toward sustained well-being.