5 March 2023. "Three years after the world began its epic struggle against COVID-19, the least developed countries ) – already grappling with severe structural impediments to sustainable development and highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks – have found themselves stranded amid a rising tide of crisis, uncertainty, climate chaos and deep global injustice.
“Systems are stretched or non-existent – from health and education to social protection, infrastructure, and job creation. And it is only getting worse,” Secretary-General António Guterres told the?Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, known as?LDC5, taking place in the Qatar capital from 5 to 9 March.
He said that the global financial system, created by wealthy countries to serve their own interests, is extremely unfair to LDCs, who must pay interest rates that can be eight times higher than those in developed countries. “Today, 25 developing economies are spending over 20 per cent of government revenues solely on servicing debt,” said the UN chief.
In the face of such deep challenges, the UN chief stated that the LDCs “need a revolution of support” across three key areas." Read more here: