Conflict, climate change, cash-strapped: Why poverty persists

Published 7 July 2026 · india

With just under five years left to complete the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, a new report shows what's hampering progress. And what the solutions are

With just under five years left to complete the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, a new report shows what's hampering progress. And what the solutions are. One in ten people are still in extreme poverty, over two billion face moderate or severe food insecurity and the number affected by climate-related disasters has more than doubled since 2015. That's according to data from the United Nations published in a report today. A little over a decade ago, the international community agreed to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change. The UN set up 17 goals with 169 targets to be reached by 2030, such as zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, good health and well-being as well as access to affordable and clean energy. While there has been progress in some areas, including almost one billion people gaining access to safely managed drinking water, a drop in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths and electricity reaching 92% of the global population, many other areas are way off track. Nearly half the targets are advancing too slowly, and 15% have fallen below 2015 baselines. Global extreme poverty is projected to reach 10% by 2026, just 3 percentage points below 2015 levels. About one in four urban residents live in slums or informal settlements. In addition, the risk of extinction is worsening across all species groups and global temperatures reached 1.43 degrees Celsius (2.57 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels in 2025. The concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere is at its highest for two million years. Pakistan's Pashtun kids struggle to go to school To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged countries to step up as official development assistance plummeted by a record 23% in 2025.

"Together, let us make a decisive final push to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and build a healthy, prosperous future for all," he said. Falling short: Overlapping crises and a widening financial gap Progress has been hampered by surging violent conflict, undoing years of development in a couple of months. While the annual financing gap for SDGs in developing countries stands at around $4 trillion (€3.5 trillion), global military spending has reached record highs. The war in the Middle East has disrupted maritime traffic, blocking energy, fertilizer and food corridors. This could spell severe long-term consequences for global food security, particularly in Africa and parts of Asia. Iran war drives food insecurity in war-torn Sudan To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Millions of people struggle to get enough food, access to water Though global hunger slightly decreased in 2024, it was still higher than in 2015. Over 8% of the world's population experience chronic hunger, and more than two billion people don't have access to adequate food at some point during the year. Progress was mostly due to post-pandemic economic recoveries in Southern Asia and Latin America. Hunger continued to rise in Western Asia and Africa. Billions of people have gained access to clean drinking water, but water stress (how much fresh water is withdrawn relative to how much is available) remains severe in several regions. Ten percent of the world's population lives in countries with high or critical water stress levels. Nearly half of the world's countries have reported declining river flows, with Latin America, the Caribbean and parts of Central and Southern Asia being hit the hardest. Many rivers have dried up — nearly half the world's countries have reported declining river flows Image: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP As climate risks are escalating, vulnerability continues to grow The years from 2015 to 2025 were the hottest on record and greenhouse gas emissions continue an upward trend, with 2024 marking a new record high.