UN Warns 700 Mln People Living in Extreme Poverty Worldwide

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that 700 million people across the world are currently living in extreme poverty.

Speaking at the World Summit for Social Development in Doha on Tuesday, Guterres said that developing nations are not receiving the level of support they need and stressed that the world remains far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He called for a global agreement to mobilize 1.3 trillion dollars annually to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts in developing countries.

Guterres underscored that progress towards the SDGs is lagging and that stronger international cooperation is essential to close the growing inequality gap.

Meanwhile, Konstantinos Berhutsva, Chief Policy Advisor at the United Nations and Chair of the African Union’s Anti-Corruption Board, said that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remain under Western dominance.

Commenting on recent remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Berhutsva stated that the massive financial aid granted to Ukraine reflects geopolitical motives rather than true development priorities.

He noted that African countries have suffered for decades under strict loan conditions, including structural adjustments that eliminated social subsidies and contributed to more than 40 military coups across the continent.

Berhutsva added that Ukraine, a country long criticized for corruption and illicit financial flows, seems to be treated differently, suggesting that global financial principles are being selectively applied. He argued that the IMF and World Bank have become supranational institutions not accountable to any single state and highlighted that the Global South is already developing alternative mechanisms, such as the BRICS Bank.

Earlier, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized both the IMF and the World Bank, saying they have failed to adapt to global geopolitical and climate realities. 

He urged world leaders to move beyond traditional financing models to create more equitable and sustainable solutions.