UNDP warns of triple crisis facing developing nations

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned that developing nations are facing a “perfect storm” of compounding crises. According to a report titled “No Time to Recover,” these countries are struggling with the simultaneous impact of an energy crisis, the El Niño climate pattern, and surging borrowing costs.

UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo noted that high oil prices, driven by Middle East hostilities, are straining national budgets. While emergency government measures previously shielded up to 130 million of the world’s poorest people from high costs, many governments are now running out of fiscal space to maintain these cushions.

Additionally, the severe El Niño pattern threatens widespread crop failures and extreme weather, while a global bond sell-off has pushed borrowing costs for developing nations to approximately 9%. De Croo called for “solidarity and global action” to prevent tens or even hundreds of millions of people from falling back into poverty.