Antonio Guterres
The United Nations (UN) has raised concerns about the alarming rate of poverty being experienced in many countries.
According to the UN, over a billion people are deprived of basic needs like food, water, health care, and education while billions more lack sanitation and access to energy, jobs, housing, and social safety nets.
This is coupled with conflicts, the climate crisis, discrimination, and exclusion, particularly against women and girls, which are deepening the distress.
The situation has caused barriers to achieving social justice and sustainable development aimed at alleviating poverty and empowering marginalized communities by the United Nations.
In commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a statement issued by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres stated that the crisis is compounded by an outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair global financial system that hinders developing countries from investing in alleviating poverty and achieving the SDGs.
Making projections that almost 500 million people will still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, adding, nearly 700 million people are scraping by, living on less than $2.15 per day
The statement further revealed that at the SDG Summit in September, world leaders recognized the need to reform the international financial architecture and committed to a bold plan to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals and accelerate efforts to eradicate poverty everywhere.
“This includes support for an SDG stimulus of at least $500 billion per year in financing for investments to achieve this,” he said.
The press statement indicated that the leaders also agreed on targeted action aimed at alleviating poverty and suffering for all people by transforming food and education systems, to decent jobs and expanding social protection, as this year’s theme highlights.
Meanwhile, this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is set for October 17, 2023.