On 18 November 2025, Deo-Gracias Houndolo successfully defended his PhD thesis at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) investigating the dynamics of poverty in rural areas in Ghana and Benin and the effectiveness of multifaceted and single sector interventions to tackle poverty.
Houndolo argued that governments around the world have committed to eradicating poverty by 2030, as exemplified in the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).
Yet the promise of the SDG to leave no one behind hinges on sustained political and economic stability and the ability to design, implement and evaluate innovative development interventions that are context-sensitive, evidence-based and scalable.
An examination of such poverty reduction initiatives yields two broad types of interventions - single sector development interventions and multifaceted interventions.
Based on his research in Ghana and Benin, Houndolo concluded that trickle-down policies without a specific poverty-focus do not support poverty reduction. He also argued that it is important to pay greater attention to more than just impact and also consider longer-term financing, cost-effectiveness, scalability and sustainability.
Re-watch Deo-Gracia Houndolo's PhD defence introduction
Photos of the defence
- Researcher
- Related links
- Find out about the ISS PhD programme