Global Scans · Poverty · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Due to a deteriorating global economic outlook, more than 130 out of 189 countries will experience reduced income growth, with the average global GDP growth rate falling from 4.1 percent to 3.1 percent between 2011 and 2030. Almost all of the countries with large numbers remaining in extreme poverty in 2030 will be in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.

• [New] Regional cooperation and refugee and humanitarian assistance funding is forecast to drop from just over $1 billion in 2026-27 to $798 million in 2029-30. David Pocock - Independent Senator for the ACT
• [New] The 2026 Research Grants on Reducing Inequality program seeks to advance evidence-based knowledge about how to create more equitable opportunities and outcomes for young people in the United States. fundsforNGOs - Grants and Resources for Sustainability
• [New] With a population of 7 billion, and another billion projected in less than 15 years, the world faces daunting challenges, including global warming, a recent rapid increase in food prices, and more than 1 billion people living in extreme poverty. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Arbour Rising's 2026-2027 cycle is funding second-stage U.S. nonprofits building pathways out of poverty, with an initial USD $125,000 unrestricted grant plus 200 to 300 hours per year of high-dosage consulting. Impact Funding
• [New] The proliferation of falsified medical products and AMR represent a double threat to public health and global health security, particularly in countries facing security, humanitarian, and persistent logistical issues. Health Policy Watch
• [New] This week's wealth tax developments reflect continuing debate across California, Connecticut, Washington, New York City, and beyond, with supporters framing new taxes as a response to inequality and public-funding pressures while critics warn about migration, competitiveness, and legal risk. Family Enterprise USA
• [New] Factors such as the DRC's humanitarian crisis, high population movement and its large network of informal healthcare facilities compound the risk of the disease spreading, the WHO cautions. Live Science
• [New] Special operations forces (SOF) are uniquely equipped to provide an agile, low-profile response to many of the global terror threats and conflict-fueled humanitarian crises emanating from the U.S. Africa Command area of operations. SOAA
• [New] The EU Anti-Poverty Strategy sets a clear path toward reaching the EU target laid out in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030, as well as helping eradicate poverty by 2050. Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
• [New] About one-third of older adults live in poverty or are at risk of falling into it. AARP
• [New] Increases in poverty rates were concentrated in the Levant and fragile countries (Sudan and Yemen), where baseline vulnerability is highest and shocks translate more strongly into welfare losses. Al Jazeera
• [New] Even if conflict is 'short but intense', countries like Sudan, Yemen and Lebanon will see significant increases in poverty rates. Al Jazeera
• [New] Poverty, global instability, conflict, global displacement of people and the breakdown of safe migration routes are creating a growing pipeline of vulnerability that traffickers are quick to exploit. The Guardian
• [New] Peace and security in the world will be achieved through tackling poverty, reducing inequality and solving issues which cause destabilization through diplomacy and dialog, not through greater spending on defence. Religion Media Centre
• [New] According to the UN Women Gender Snapshot, closing the gender digital divide could boost global GDP by $1.5 trillion and lift 30 million women out of poverty - that is the scale of the opportunity we are talking about. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• [New] The decisions made in the next five years - by executives, policymakers, educators, and technologists - will determine whether AI agents become instruments of broadly shared prosperity or engines of unprecedented inequality. Tech for Impact Summit
• [New] The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) formally identifies climate change as a critical national security threat and a threat multiplier, as it exacerbates existing stresses like poverty, political instability, and resource scarcity. CODEPINK - Women for Peace
• [New] Ireland's participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk, followed by Spain's RTVE, The Netherlands' Avotros and Slovenia's RTVSLO. HuffPost UK
• [New] The conflict in Gaza and Israel remains devastating, with humanitarian agencies warning of worsening conditions and civilian casualties. Forbes
• The richest 1% of US residents are slated to receive $1 trillion in federal tax cuts over the next 10 years, while low- and middle-income families will pay higher taxes, at a time when affordability challenges continue to increase and income inequality in the US and California are already extreme. California Budget & Policy Center
• Sticking with the current business-as-usual scenario risks building a country where people continue to live in some of Europe's leakiest buildings, and endure high levels of fuel poverty, deepening job insecurity and in-work poverty, and the undermining of efforts to reduce child poverty. The Scottish Beacon
• Social fragmentation represents disruptions in social connections and community cohesion (e.g., social exclusion, isolation, lack of belonging), while SES deprivation encompasses limitations in material and educational resources (e.g., poverty, unemployment, limited educational attainment). PubMed Central (PMC)

Last updated: 12 June 2026