Direct policy interventions are needed for a solution. Assuming a country can rid itself of a corrupt government (maybe through external forces). The majority of African countries that suffer from poverty (e.g. Somalia) don’t have the data or knowledge on identifying their poor. Meaning no resources can get to them. Anti-poverty campaigns in Niger for example failed because of this. Without a significant improvement in governance, no sustainable solutions can be found. Therefore the first step in reducing poverty will likely come from external powers helping educate/install sustainable governments. The second step is locating the poverty, and the third step is installing the necessary infrastructure for support (e.g. roads, water pipes etc). Then comes education in order to make the reduction in poverty sustainable. Somewhere between the third and 4th step, there will need to be some plan in creating an economy in these poor areas. Most likely first coming from something like mining natural resources (like coal) and providing the necessary tools for this.

Most of the time in countries that need a reduction in poverty, there is usually an external/internal threat. Therefore suggesting a decrease in defence spending where possible could be dangerous.