Doha, November 04 (QNA) - The Doha Political Declaration, issued Tuesday during the Second World Summit on Social Development currently held in Doha, identified nine key challenges that the international community must address and overcome to eradicate escalating global poverty and unemployment rates.
The leaders participating in the declaration noted that, thirty years after the World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in 1995, progress remains slow and uneven, with significant gaps and inequalities persisting both within and among countries.
They highlighted that with only five years remaining until the 2030 deadline, progress toward achieving most Sustainable Development Goals has been extremely slow, with some goals stalling or even regressing despite notable achievements in certain areas.
The declaration stressed that, although significant strides have been made in reducing poverty since 1995, progress has slowed in recent years.
Over one billion people continue to live in poverty in its various forms, with children, women, persons with disabilities, rural populations, and those in fragile situations disproportionately affected.
Hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition remain stark realities, with global rates of undernutrition rising in recent years. Despite expanded access to education, many children remain out of school.
While global coverage of social protection, including minimum social safety nets, has gradually increased, nearly four billion people still lack any form of social protection, including almost two billion children.
The declaration highlighted the situation of informal workers, noting that millions still live in poverty, with wages and incomes insufficient to secure a decent standard of living or support their families.
Informal employment remains widespread, disproportionately affecting women and youth. Progress toward ending child labor remains extremely slow.
It further emphasized that millions of young people lack access to education, employment, or training, with young women particularly affected. Youth, especially those with disabilities, face higher unemployment, greater involvement in informal work, and a higher proportion of working poor.
A lack of decent work opportunities could have long-term consequences for poverty eradication efforts and negatively impact the well-being of current and future generations.
The declaration warned that inequality has reached alarming levels.
Since 1995, income disparities have widened in both developed and developing countries, and global wage gaps remain substantial.
Gender inequality is deeply entrenched, with women earning less than men on average and millions remaining outside the labor force.
Attention was drawn to persons with disabilities, who are more likely to live in poverty and face additional costs related to disability, including medical expenses, along with significant social and economic barriers that hinder their inclusion.
The declaration also highlighted persistent digital divides both within and among countries, particularly in rural and remote areas, where billions currently lack access to electronic connectivity, the internet, and digital skills.
Digital infrastructure and internet access remain major challenges in developing countries, especially least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states.
Additional challenges threatening social development gains were identified, including geopolitical tensions, armed conflicts, economic crises, inequalities within and between countries, climate change, natural hazards and disasters, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and water scarcity.
The challenges also included desertification, pollution, famine and hunger resulting from conflicts, humanitarian emergencies and forced displacement, refugee crises, pandemics and other health emergencies, gender inequality, racial discrimination, unequal technological advancement, unsustainable debt burdens, and unequal access to technology and capital.
The declaration further emphasized that complex and interconnected demographic shifts continue to pose challenges and opportunities, including rapid population growth, declining fertility rates, and aging populations. (QNA)