OREANDA-NEWS. As UN Secretary General António Guterres said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Maintaining Peace and Stability, in 2020 the level of extreme poverty began to grow throughout the world. This trend has been observed for the first time in the last 22 years.

According to Antonio Guterres, due to the economic slowdown amid the coronavirus pandemic and various conflicts, another 18 to 27 million people will become poor.

Earlier, the World Bank announced a forecast of the poverty level in Russia. At the same time, according to a public opinion poll, about 33% of Russians believe that they live in poverty.

In addition to rising poverty, the UN Secretary General also drew attention to the growing gender inequality. According to him, "the world has been thrown back decades in terms of the share of working women as a key driver for inclusive development."

To solve these problems, Antonio Guterres suggested using the principles enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals.

The UN Secretary General added that "first, it is interdependence: there can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development. Second, it is engagement in the problem. The commitment to" leave no one behind "must be at the center of our efforts."