Who are they, what do they talk about and who listens to the poor?

Abstract

The right to a dignified life for all requires overcoming the challenges imposed on the most vulnerable groups, and poverty is one of the oldest and most devastating phenomena. Listening to them is essential to create remediating opportunities. This study aims to identify characteristics of this listening in the context of health promotion and the Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs, an international effort to support the fight against poverty, among others. In an integrative review of literature, conducted through the search terms of Poverty, Right to the City, Equity Policy and Identification of Poverty, 86 studies that listened to vulnerable groups, such as women, children, adolescents, adults, the elderly, families and drug users, all poor and low-skilled workers were analyzed. Each strategy shown was related to one or more SDGs. The recurrent strategies in the studies analyzed were increased social protection and spaces to listen to vulnerable groups, as well as public policies that enabled the fight against poverty. Equity must be thought of in the context of comprehensive and universalizing rights policies, overcoming fragmented and focal policies that fail to address the structural causes of poverty and human exploitation.

Key words
Poverty; Social vulnerability; Sustainable development; Equity; Health promotion