UN says development goals progress 'insufficient' 10 years on
UN member states committed in 2015 to pursuing 17 goals that range from ending extreme poverty and hunger to pursuing gender equality and clean energy by 2030.
In a report published Monday, the United Nations said that 35 percent of the objectives were advancing, while around half had stagnated and the rest were heading backwards.
This scorecard, it said, showed that the progress was "insufficient."
Among the most successful was improving access to electricity, with 92 percent of the world connected by 2023. Internet usage has also risen from 40 percent to 68 percent worldwide in the last decade.
Some 110 million more children and young people have entered school since 2015, the report said, while maternal mortality has fallen from 228 deaths per 100,000 births in 2015 to 197 in 2023.
But some goals have receded despite this progress.
In 2023, 757 million people (9.1 percent of the world's population) were suffering from hunger, compared with 713 million (7.5 percent) in 2019, the report said.
Meanwhile, more than 800 million people -- around one in 10 people worldwide -- are still living in extreme poverty.
"Eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 appears highly unlikely due to slow recovery from COVID-19 impacts, economic instability, climate shocks, and sluggish growth in sub-Saharan Africa," the report said.
UN chief Antonio Guterres warned at a news conference that the world was facing a global development emergency.
It was, he added, "an emergency measured in the over 800 million people still living in extreme poverty. In intensifying climate impacts. And in relentless debt service, draining the resources that countries need to invest in their people."
However, Guterres struck a positive tone on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, saying that if they didn't exist, "many of these achievements would never have been reached." — Agence France-Presse
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
4 hours ago
- GMA Network
Chiz: Minority senators will have committee chairmanships
Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Esucero said Wednesday that all the four other members of the Senate minority bloc, except Senate Minority Leader Senator Vicente 'Tito' Sotto III, will be given respective committees to lead in the 20th Congress. Escudero explained that usually, only the Senate President, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, and Senate President Pro Tempore do not have committee chairmanships because they are officers of the Senate. This means that all the 41 permanent committees of the upper chamber will be distributed to the 20 other senators, including those from the minority bloc. 'Lahat sila magkakaroon ng komite… Inuuna lamang mag-organize ang majority, kapag natapos mag-organize ang majority, ang minority naman ang io-organize,' Escudero said in a Balitanghali interview. (All of them will be given a committee. The majority just has to organize first, and then the minority will organize after.) 'Itong Senadong 'to, nagdaang Senado man, merong komite 'yung mga miyembro ng minority except for the minority leader dahil by tradition, 'yung apat na officers ng Senado us usually walang komite, maliban na lamang kung may gusto sila,' he added. (In this Senate, even the previous one, the members of the minority were given a committee except for the minority leader because by tradition, the four officers of the Senate usually do not have a committee, unless they want something to lead.) The five-man Senate minority bloc is composed of Senators Risa Hontiveros, Juan Miguel 'Migz' Zubiri, Loren Legarda, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson. The group is led by Sotto. On Tuesday's Senate plenary session, 32 of the 41 committee chairmanships were filled, including the significant ones like the blue ribbon committee that will be led by first-termer Senator Rodante Marcoleta; Committee on Finance by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian; and Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes by Senator Robin Padilla. Other senators were also given two or more committees to chair this 20th Congress, such as Senators Alan Peter Cayetano (Accounts; Science and Technology; Higher, Technical and Vocational Education; and Justice and Human Rights), Imee Marcos (Labor, Employment & Human Resource Development; Cooperatives; and Foreign Relations); Pia Cayetano (Energy; Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation and Futures Thinking; and Ways and Means); and Bong Go (Health and Demography; Sports; and Youth). Lacson committee Meanwhile, Lacson said that the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People's Participation had been offered to him. In a statement, Lacson said he accepted the chairmanship, stressing that he will push for the passage of the Anti-Political Dynasty Act which is included in his priority bills in the 20th Congress. 'I will schedule as soon as possible my Anti-Political Dynasty bill and another bill also referred to that committee,' Lacson said. Escudero pointed out that the distribution of committee chairmanships does not depend on the seniority or length of service of a senator. 'Walang kinalaman 'yan. Lahat kami ay pare-parehong senador—matanda man o bata, matagal nang nanilbihan o bago lang. Hindi sinusukat ang kakayahan ng isang senador base sa haba ng oras o ikli ng oras ng kanyang paninilbihan dahil pare-pareho lamang naman kaming binoto ng sambayanan at pare-pareho kaming tigi-tigisa lamang ang boto sa Senado,' the Senate president said. (That has nothing to do with the chairmanship. We are all senators—old or young, whether serving for long or not. The ability of a senator is not measured based on the length of his/her service because we were all voted by the people and each of us has a vote in the Senate.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
16 hours ago
- GMA Network
UN holds emergency talks over sky-high costs for COP30 climate summit
BRUSSELS —The United Nations' climate bureau held an urgent meeting on Tuesday over concerns that sky-high accommodation prices for this year's COP30 climate summit in Brazil could price poorer countries out of the negotiations, according to diplomats and a document seen by Reuters. Brazil is preparing to host this year's U.N. climate summit in November in the rainforest city of Belem, where nearly every government in the world will gather to negotiate their joint efforts to curb climate change. Concerns about logistics have dogged preparations for COP30. Developing countries have warned that they cannot afford Belem's accommodation prices, which have soared amid a shortage of rooms. In an emergency meeting of the U.N. climate body's "COP bureau" on Tuesday, Brazil agreed to address countries' concerns about accommodation and report back at another meeting on August 11, said Richard Muyungi, chair of the African Group of Negotiators, who called the meeting. "We were assured that we will revisit that on the 11th, to get assurances on whether the accommodation will be adequate for all delegates," Muyungi told Reuters after the meeting. He said African countries wanted to avoid trimming their participation because of the cost. "We are not ready to cut down the numbers. Brazil has got a lot of options in terms of having a better COP, a good COP. So that is why we are pushing that Brazil has to provide better answers, rather than telling us to limit our delegation," Muyungi said. Another diplomat familiar with the meeting said complaints about affordability came from both poor and wealthy nations. An agenda for Tuesday's meeting, seen by Reuters, confirmed it was convened to address "operational and logistical preparations for the Climate Change Conference in Belem" and the African Group of Negotiators' concerns on the matter. Brazil's Foreign Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Brazilian officials organising the summit have made repeated assurances that poorer countries will have access to accommodation they can afford. A spokesperson for the UN's climate body, UNFCCC, declined to comment on the meeting. Cruise ship hotels Brazil is racing to expand the 18,000 hotel beds usually available in Belem, a coastal city of 1.3 million, to host the roughly 45,000 people projected to attend COP30. The government this month said it had secured two cruise ships to provide 6,000 extra beds for delegates. It also opened bookings to developing countries for more affordable accommodation at daily rates of up to $220. That is still above the "daily subsistence allowance" the U.N. offers some poorer nations to support their participation at COPs. For Belem, the figure is $149. Two U.N. diplomats showed Reuters quotes they had received from hotels and property managers in Belem for rates of around $700 per person per night during COP30. Officials from six governments, including wealthier European nations, told Reuters they had not yet secured accommodation because of high prices, and some said they were preparing to reduce their participation. A spokesperson for the Dutch government said it may need to halve its delegation compared with recent COPs, when the Netherlands sent around 90 people during the two-week event, including envoys, negotiators and youth representatives. Poland's deputy climate minister Krzysztof Bolesta told Reuters earlier this month: "We don't have accommodation. We'll probably have to cut down the delegation to the bone." "In an extreme event, maybe we will have to not show up," he said. —Reuters
GMA Network
18 hours ago
- GMA Network
Britain warns Israel it will recognize Palestinian state as Gaza starvation spreads
Demonstrators hit cooking pots during an "Act NOW against Genocide in Gaza" protest, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Valletta, Malta, July 29, 2025. )REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi) UNITED NATIONS/LONDON —Britain said on Tuesday it would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel takes steps to relieve suffering in Gaza, where starvation is spreading, and reaches a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war with Hamas. The warning came after a hunger monitor said a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. Palestinian authorities said more than 60,000 Palestinians were now confirmed killed by Israel's air and ground assault on the Gaza Strip. The hunger alert and the new death toll are grim milestones in a conflict that began almost two years ago when Hamas attacked Israel, sparking an offensive that has flattened much of the enclave and ignited hostilities across the Middle East. The alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the man-made starvation crisis in Gaza could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let in far more food. Britain's warning heightens pressure on Israel amid an international outcry over its conduct of the war. France announced it would recognise Palestinian statehood last week in a move that enraged the Israeli government. Israel dismissed Britain's announcement as a "reward" for Hamas. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his cabinet on Tuesday that Britain would follow suit at the United Nations General Assembly in September "unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution," his government said. The move, if carried through, would be mostly symbolic, with Israel occupying the territories where the Palestinians have long aimed to establish that state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital. It makes Israel appear more isolated on the international stage as a growing number of countries call for it to allow unfettered aid into Gaza, where it controls all entry and exit points to the besieged coastal territory. However, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration - Israel's closest and most influential ally - has made clear it has no intention of joining others in recognising Palestinian statehood anytime soon. Since returning to office in January, Trump has left it unclear whether he would support an eventual Palestinian state. Trump said on Tuesday he and Starmer did not discuss Britain's proposal to recognise a Palestinian state when the two held talks in Scotland over the weekend. Trump told reporters at the time he did "not mind" if Britain did so. Evidence of starvation, malnutrition, disease With the international furore over Gaza's ordeal growing, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the U.N. World Food Programme said on Tuesday it was not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid since Israel began humanitarian pauses in warfare on Sunday. "Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," the IPC said, adding that "famine thresholds" have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza. It said it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as "in famine". Gaza health authorities have been reporting more and more people dying from hunger-related causes. The total stands at 147, among them 88 children, most of whom died in the last few weeks. Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked the world, with Israel's strongest ally Trump declaring that many people were starving. He promised to set up new "food centres". Israel has denied pursuing a policy of starvation. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that the situation in Gaza was "tough" but there were lies about starvation there. Deadliest conflict The Gazan casualty figures, which are often cited by the U.N. and have previously been described as reliable by the World Health Organisation, underline the war as the deadliest involving Israel since its establishment in 1948. Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, when militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage - Israel's deadliest ever day. Since Israel launched ground operations in Gaza in October 2023, 454 soldiers have been killed. The new Palestinian toll does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Thousands more bodies are believed to be buried under rubble, meaning the true toll is likely to be significantly higher, Palestinian officials and rescue workers say. Israeli airstrikes overnight killed at least 30 Palestinians in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, Gaza health authorities said. Doctors at Al-Awda Hospital said at least 14 women and 12 children were among the dead. The hospital also said that 13 people had been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli gunfire along the Salahudeen Road as they waited for aid trucks to roll into Gaza. Only half of requests approved Saar said 5,000 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the last two months, and that Israel would assist those wanting to conduct airdrops - a delivery method that aid groups say is ineffective and tokenist. Ross Smith, a senior regional programme adviser at the World Food Programme, told reporters in Geneva by video: "We're getting approximately 50% of what we're requesting into Gaza since these humanitarian pauses started on Sunday. "We are not going to be able to address the needs of the population unless we can move in the volume that we need." Israel and the U.S. accuse Hamas of stealing aid - which the militants deny - and the U.N. of failing to prevent it. The U.N. says it has not seen evidence of Hamas diverting much aid. Hamas accuses Israel of causing starvation and using aid as a weapon.—Reuters
