Poverty was one of the major social problems of the twentieth century and is persisting in the twenty-first century, caused by human unsustainable behaviour (Wagle 2002). Despite of living in an abundant planet full of resources, humans haven’t been able to meet all human needs. There are 1.3 billion people are living in extreme poverty globally (Besley and Burgess 2003).

Various concepts and methods have been used to understand and study poverty. The concept has been of a high interest for the social scientist, economist, sociologist and anthropologist, thus there are distinct perspectives to explore and understand poverty in all societies and over time (Akindola 2009). For example, social scientists have considered poverty as a consequence of lack of individual capability, economists identify poverty on income and consumption and finally anthropologist and sociologists focus on social exclusion as a cause of poverty. Considerable efforts have been done in order to integrate all these three concepts – capability, social exclusion, economic wellbeing – that poverty analysis has adopted to fully frame an interpretation and measurement approaches (Wagle 2002).

From the perspective of sustainability, poverty must be seen as a linked not only from economic and social perspectives but also from an environmental aspect within an integral and systematic approach. In this context, addressing the issue of poverty from the perspective of sustainable development is extremely important because it allows actions with a long-term focus (without compromising resources and opportunities for future generations to grow and develop) (Goldfrank 1999).

In September 2015, a set of goals was approved by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) with an agenda for sustainable development that should implement 17 sustainable development goals in every country from the year 2016 to 2030. In 2001, governments reached an agreement on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), of which Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are based to further improve and expand (Sarabhai 2015). Furthermore, the main challenge for the sustainable Development goal is to End poverty in all its forms everywhere” (United Nation 2015). The SDGs objectives are to eradicate poverty in all places of the world for all people and implement social protection systems and measures for all people living in poverty. The poverty among men, women, and children should be reduced at least half of its proportion by 2030 (United Nations 2015).