This story explores how sustainable development could be achieved through new models, more specifically passing from top-down commitments to a bottom-up delivery. The financing conversation must evolve to a local scale, and Resident Coordinators of the UN are playing a catalytic role in order to achieve this goal. Indeed, “the SDGs can be won at the last mile—but only if we start putting the first dollars where they matter most.”

Beyond Capitals: Financing the Frontlines of Sustainable Development

Joyce Msuya, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs reflects on the importance of the Doha World Summit for Social Development from the humanitarian perspective. 

Audio credit: Abdelmonem Makki, UN News

CLIP – ‘Hope is the currency of humanitarian work’, UNOCHA’s Joyce Msuya

Thirty years after the first World Social Summit in Copenhagen, global leaders have reconvened in Doha to assess progress and chart a path forward on poverty eradication and social development. 

Over the past three decades, 1.5 billion people have been lifted out of poverty, and global life expectancy has increased by nearly seven years.

However, significant challenges remain, with an estimated 800 million people still living in extreme poverty, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

Speaking on the role of the UN and on the actions that governments must take to make social development more resilient and sustainable, UNDP’s acting administrator Haoling Xu underscored the importance of rebuilding global trust and solidarity. 

He spoke to UN News’ Abdelmonem Makki following the political declaration adoption at the World Summit for Social Development on Tuesday.

UN News continues to provide on-the-ground coverage from Doha.

Audio credit: Abdelmonem Makki, UN News
Photo: © WHO/Anna Kari

Doha Social Summit: renewed commitment to end poverty

• Sudan: UN chief calls for immediate ceasefire 
• Gaza: Hunger and exhaustion continue to delay enclave’s recovery 
• Syria healthcare hit by dire funding shortages  

Audio credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News

UN News Today 04 November 2025 - Sudan, Gaza, Syria healthcare

In the health sector, neurotechnology is helping patients to communicate, walk and improve their quality of life, but in the commercial sector, products that can tap into our brainwaves are largely unregulated, and companies can do what they want with our data.
On 5 November, UNESCO Member States adopted a set of non-binding principles on the ethical use of neurotechnology. Dana Feinholz, the acting Director of Research, Ethics and Inclusion at UNESCO, spoke to UN News about the incredible benefits of the latest devices, and why regulation is needed.
Audio: UN News/ Conor Lennon
Photo: UNESCO

CLIP - We need to regulate machines that read our thoughts: UNESCO's Dafna Feinholz

• In Gaza, a vaccination campaign for 44,000 children begins 
• South Sudan faces famine if conflict persists: FAO, WFP
• World’s forests face ‘critical threat’, UNECE report finds

Audio credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News

UN News Today 05 November 2025 - Gaza vaccination campaign, South Sudan famine, forests and climate action

Nearly 30 years after the landmark Copenhagen Declaration – when governments pledged to make societies fairer and more inclusive – conversations about putting social development back at the centre of the global agenda have taken on renewed importance.

To understand why it’s so critical, and how social protection connects to the broader pursuit of social justice, UN News’s Vibhu Mishra has been speaking to Srinivas Tata, of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

They’re both in Doha where the Second World Summit for Social Development is in full swing, and Mr. Tata began by explain why social justice is not just a vague concept – but an achievable goal.

Audio credit: Vibhu Mishra, UN News
Photo: UNDP India


Leaving no one behind: Social justice must be at the heart of development

Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks to UN News at the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, and explains how global social and economic policies should be grounded in human rights. 

Audio credit: Abdelmonem Makki, UN News

CLIP - Make social justice and human rights a practical reality for everyone - OHCHR's Nada Al-Nashif

For millions of people with disabilities around the globe, the World Social Summit happening in Doha this week, represents something more powerful than promises – it represents hope. 

That’s according to Fatma Al Jassim, who is in Doha representing the Global Disability Innovation Hub, a pioneering research centre in the UK, dedicated to driving disability innovation for a fairer world. 

Speaking to UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki, Ms. Al Jassim explained why true inclusion is key to real change. 

Audio credit: Abdelmonem Makki, UN News

Doha Social Summit represents ‘hope’ for people with disabilities

• UN chief urges world leaders to drive down global warming 
• Brazil launches major fund to protect tropical forests
• Afghanistan’s opium output drops but synthetic drugs on the rise

Audio: Daniel Johnson, UN News 

UN News Today 06 November 2025 - COP30, Afghanistan opium

Claire Courteille-Mulder, Senior Adviser at the International Labour Organization (ILO), highlighted that social justice is central to the organization’s mission of promoting decent work and inclusive development. 

Speaking at the Doha Summit, she praised the many initiatives and partnerships aimed at implementing the summit’s political declaration, expressing optimism that strengthened international cooperation will drive real progress toward social justice worldwide.

Audio credit: Abdelmonem Makki, UN News

CLIP - International Labour Organization calls for global action on social justice at Doha Summit

Bringing together the United Nations development system to deliver on the Global Goals for people and planet.

Beyond Capitals: Financing the Frontlines of Sustainable Development

UN Sustainable Development Group

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