This publication points out that to reduce poverty in Asia and the Pacific, countries need to step up their investment in people, in particular on social protection, education and health care. To be effective, existing social development policies need to reach the furthest behind. This requires policymakers to identify the country-specific population groups that are disproportionally poor and deprived as well as the specific barriers that hinder their escape from poverty. Recognizing the centrality of addressing poverty in all its manifestations, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out to end poverty in all its forms everywhere.