The continued existence of poverty despite decades of anti-poverty programs has led specialists to conclude that poverty is more complex than it has been assumed. Increasingly, it has been acknowledged that poverty is only one facet of a multidimensional phenomenon. That is to say, poverty affects people unequally, but its consequences are always detrimental to human development and well-being. At the same time, people are neglected by policymakers and have limited access to market, employment, and public services due to a lack of control over resources including land, skills, knowledge, and social connections. Therefore, poverty cannot be reduced through anti-poverty programs alone but will require democratic participation and changes in public service. It also requires the adoption of policies of equitable distribution of job opportunities and incomes so as to assist people to confront the threat of poverty.