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] High levels of inequality are linked to outbreaks becoming pandemics and that inequality is undermining national and global responses, making pandemics more disruptive, deadly, and longer in duration. EATG
• [New] While income inequality between individuals declined in recent decades, largely due to economic development in China, there had been a major increase in inherited wealth, with $70 trillion expected to be handed down to heirs in the coming 10 years. Yahoo Finance Singapore
• [New] The rapid expansion of ethanol, biodiesel, and so-called sustainable aviation fuel is reshaping rural Brazil, threatening key ecosystems, and widening inequality. CSPO Watch
• [New] The UN's Humanitarian Response Plan is currently 87% underfunded, putting life-saving operations at risk. UN News
• [New] Without urgent and systemic action, Greenpeace warns, the climate crisis will exacerbate poverty, hunger, and inequality-top issues for Filipino voters. Greenpeace Philippines
• [New] Fragile logistics networks are deepening inequality and threatening progress on sustainable development. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• [New] For the first time, researchers have overlaid global climate hazard data with multidimensional poverty indicators, revealing that poverty is not just an economic issue but one deeply interlinked with planetary pressures and instability. Euronews
• [New] The UN mission to Afghanistan, Unama, warned the disconnection risks inflicting significant harm on the Afghan people, including by threatening economic stability and exacerbating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The Guardian
• [New] Accelerated interventions in care, education, the green economy, labor markets, and social protection could reduce the number of women and girls in extreme poverty by 110 million by 2050, unlocking an estimated US$ 342 trillion in cumulative economic returns. Mexico Business
• India will need as much as $21 trillion to achieve its climate goals and lift its population out of poverty. Last Week in ConTech
• Without transformative policy shifts, climate change will widen inequality and entrench cycles of deprivation. - JURIST - News
• The program that was once advertised as a symbol of independence and power has instead become a monument to failure - draining Iran's wealth, crushing its scientific potential, and pushing millions into poverty. NCRI
• The UN and other humanitarian organizations are controlled by Hamas, either out of fear of retaliation or because their administrative personnel are Hamas members (locals) or sympathizers. Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies
• The UN warns Sudan now faces the world's fastest-growing humanitarian crisis: over 5 million displaced (mostly women and children), and parts of West Darfur are in famine-like conditions after aid agencies withdrew. Geopolitical Newsletter
• Without the planned Arab-led stabilization force to provide security, the power vacuum will - and already is - generate ISIS-style violence and humanitarian concerns. Counter Extremism Project
• The freelance economy is powering American growth, but we risk leaving millions exposed to old-age poverty because they are working differently, and we are not adapting to it. The Times Leader
• Economic inequality was flagged as a top-five barrier to building socially cohesive cities, with 42% of Malaysian leaders prioritising expanding economic opportunities and entrepreneurship to create future-ready urban environments. BusinessToday
• Globally, 1.1 billion people are living in multidimensional poverty - which spans health, education and living standards - and 887 million are directly exposed to at least one climate hazard. UN News
• A gradual wage increase could lift nearly 900,000 Americans out of poverty, although it may slightly impact small business hiring rates. FFESP

Last updated: 07 November 2025