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The Department of Economic and Social Affairs, a United Nations (UN) arm, said that developing countries face the worst medium-term economic outlook in a generation. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) investment gap in these countries now stands at USD 4 trillion per year, as per the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024.
Earlier in September last year, India's Sherpa Amitabh Kant, while addressing the pre-G20-summit press conference underscored that ability to achieve sustainable development goals. India has been demanding new instruments for financing sustainable goals. The SDGs investment gap is the amount of money needed to achieve the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda, which is not presently being invested. "Per capita growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in half the world's most vulnerable countries is now slower than in advanced economies for the first time this century. This trajectory threatens to reverse a long-term trend towards more income equality among countries. Furthermore, after a decade of rapid debt accumulation, the external debt stock in low- and middle-income countries remains at unprecedentedly high levels," the Sustainable Development Goals Report-2024 stated. "The SDG investment gap in developing countries now stands at USD 4 trillion per year. These problems are exacerbated by the fact that developing countries are inadequately represented in global economic decision-making, with their voting share falling far short of their membership in many international financial institutions, It further added. According to the 2024 Financing for Sustainable Development Report (FSDR), developing countries alone face a funding gap of USD 2.5 trillion annually. The report 2024 reveals that progress has ground to a halt or been reversed across multiple fronts, despite reaffirmed pledges. The lingering impacts of COVID-19, compounded by conflicts, climate shocks and economic turmoil, have aggravated existing inequalities. An additional 23 million people were pushed into extreme poverty and over 100 million more suffered from hunger in 2022 compared to 2019. Highlighting the state of funding to achieve SDG goals, the report added that the funding gap is more pronounced in low- and lower-middle-income countries, where only 35 per cent have sufficient funding, compared to only 11 per cent of high-income countries. Forty-five countries or areas received funding from donors; half were low- and lower middle-income countries. (ANI)
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