UN warns: Aid cuts threaten global stability

Reducing aid threatens world stability

UN warns: Aid cuts threaten global stability

The Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Haoliang Xu, confirmed that reducing foreign aid amid rising military spending threatens the chances of achieving global peace, stressing that "investment in development, defense, and trade is not a losing equation for anyone."

In an interview prior to the launch of a UN conference in Seville, Spain, Xu called on wealthy countries to return to supporting developing countries despite urgent crises, considering that international development cooperation is "essential to building the foundations of peace," especially since most of the world's poor live in conflict zones.

$2.7 trillion in military spending in 2024

Xu explained that global military spending reached a record high in 2024, exceeding $2.7 trillion, a 20 percent increase over the previous year, amid escalating wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Conversely, aid budgets have seen a sharp decline, particularly from the United States and European countries, which have re-prioritized their efforts toward security and defense, according to the UN official.

Poverty and Conflict… A Direct Relationship

According to the Peace Research Institute Oslo, the world recorded the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II in 2023. The World Bank expects that the number of people living in extreme poverty—less than $3 a day—in countries experiencing conflict or instability will reach 435 million by 2030.

Shaw warned that "crises in one part of the world will not remain confined to it, but will have an impact on other regions," noting that supporting fragile states will help rich countries themselves alleviate the burdens of migration and instability.

Seville Conference… A New Test of International Commitment

The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, with the participation of approximately 50 world leaders, will begin Monday in Seville, Spain, and will continue until Thursday. This conference is an attempt to restore political and financial momentum to global development, which has been facing a funding and support drought for years.