The reduction and eradication of poverty has long been the primary goal of EU development cooperation. As the new European Consensus on development stated in 2017, “eradicating poverty, tackling discriminations and inequalities and leaving no-one behind are at the heart of EU development cooperation policy.”This briefing note draws on previous ODI research to examine how the EU could play a more effective role in ending extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by better targeting support for human development in the poorest countries.