An interesting survey of patchy progress towards poverty reduction.

There are clearly substantial challenges in Africa, but I'd like to have read a bit more of developments in South and East Asia - why has poverty reduction here been so much more successful, and what policy lessons might be learned and applied to Africa?

Good question Rhian and the answer lies in lower fertility. Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore all progressed economically as their birth rates came down. They reaped the 'demographic dividend' with a large proportion of their people of working age and relatively few dependents. Meanwhile, Sub-Saharan Africa has 5+ births per woman which really limits a woman's capacity to get into the paid workforce. Increase women's education, provide universal access to reproductive health including contraception and women's equality - not all these things happened in South-East Asia but enough of them did to see fertility decline to replacement levels or below. Until the same happens in SS Africa, it will remain mired in poverty.

Popnperish

“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. “

- H. L. Mencken

Your attempt to link every social and economic problem in every context to the single cause of population is wearisome. There are many more complex and important factors at play here.