Latest Poverty News

Only 17% of targets to improve life around the world are likely to be reached by 2030, UN reports

Jun. 29, 2024 00:48 AM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations warned Friday that only 17% of its 169 targets to improve life for the world’s more than 7 billion people are on track to be reached by the 2030 deadline. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the annual report saying, “It...

Mauritania's President Ould Ghazouani seeks reelection amid regional security crisis

Jun. 28, 2024 08:05 AM EDT

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) — Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani — who is seeking a second term in office in a vote on Saturday — is promising more economic growth and social programs to eradicate poverty and prevent extremism in the vast West African desert nation, even though...

Post Malone and Doja Cat to headline Global Citizen Festival to mobilize young people

Jun. 18, 2024 08:56 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Post Malone and Doja Cat, two of pop music’s biggest stars, will headline this year’s Global Citizen Festival in New York’s Central Park on Sept. 28, as organizers focus on mobilizing young people to help address the world’s pressing problems. The COVID-19...

The UN says a quarter of the world's children under 5 have severe food poverty. Many are in Africa

Jun. 06, 2024 05:37 AM EDT

KALTUNGO, Nigeria (AP) — The 9-month-old twins cried nonstop and tugged at their mother, seeking attention but also food. They had received little in the past 24 hours, and there were signs of deeper hunger in the heads too big for their tiny bodies. “Not much milk comes out,”...

Modi touts India's roaring economy as he seeks reelection, but many feel left behind

May. 31, 2024 00:26 AM EDT

SAMASTIPUR, India (AP) — Narendra Modi swept to power a decade ago on promises to transform India’s economy, and it would be hard to argue he hasn’t made strides. As he seeks a third term as prime minister, the country’s economic growth is the envy of the world, its stock markets are...

Ahead of another donor conference for Syria, humanitarian workers fear more aid cuts

May. 26, 2024 01:54 AM EDT

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Living in a tent in rebel-held northwestern Syria, Rudaina al-Salim and her family struggle to find enough water for drinking and other basic needs such as cooking and washing. Their encampment north of the city of Idlib hasn't seen any aid in six months. ...

Mexico's poorest receiving less government funds under president who brought poor to the fore

May. 24, 2024 00:29 AM EDT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador swept into office nearly six years ago with a simple motto laying out his administration’s priorities: “For the good of all, first the poor.” His administration scrapped a host of existing social programs and...

Poverty in Lebanon tripled over a decade, World Bank says

May. 23, 2024 07:46 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Poverty in Lebanon tripled over the course of a decade during which the small Mediterranean country slid into a protracted financial crisis, the World Bank said Thursday. The percentage of people in Lebanon living below the poverty line rose from 12% in 2012 to 44% in...

South Africa election: How Mandela's once revered ANC lost its way with infighting and scandals

May. 22, 2024 01:21 AM EDT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — For years, the African National Congress rose above politics in South Africa. It was a movement dedicated to freeing Black people from the oppression of white minority rule and to the lofty principle of democracy, equality and a better life for all South Africans. ...

Former South Africa leader Zuma promises jobs and free education as he launches party manifesto

May. 19, 2024 03:14 AM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Former South African President Jacob Zuma Saturday lamented the high levels of poverty among black South Africans and promised to create jobs and tackle crime as he launched his new political party's manifesto ahead of the country's much anticipated elections. ...