The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Achim Steiner, revealed that the world's poorest countries are forced to prioritize debt service over investment, which hinders progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
He said the financial crisis meant that countries around the world were struggling to achieve the Goals, a set of 17 broad goals such as tackling poverty and hunger, improving access to education and healthcare, providing clean energy, and protecting biodiversity.
"For many LDCs, which were literally considered out of financial markets. It can't borrow more money," he said, adding that it had to cut back on spending to avoid default.
He said the world needs trillions of additional dollars a year to meet spending targets to combat climate change.
He said boosting funding is "absolutely pivotal" to achieving the SDGs, which his organization is watching closely.
