Résumé (EN)

Since adoption of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) in 1995 by the international community, poverty has declined in many developing countries. However, it remains widepsread. Also, many efforts continued to be deployed for a better understanding of the phenomenon. Studies on poverty in developing countries have made it possible to study important aspects of the phenomenon, notably to target impoverished populations and to define policies and programmes to reduce poverty. Different approaches with regard to poverty have been adopted. Started from a monetary approach, there has been fairly rapid evolution towards an approach based on needs according to which there are certain goods and services which are critical to humans, regardless of the society they live in. We could consider this as poverty of living conditions. Sen (1985) showed the importance of an alternative approach which is concerned with any lack in intrinsic capacitiy (income, education, health, civic rights, human rights, etc.) which enable the individual to live as they would like to.