Report Outlines Risks to Development

Improvements in life spans, education and incomes are slowing because of natural disasters, misguided government policies and worsening inequality in a world where the 85 richest people have as much wealth collectively as the 3.5 billion poorest, the United Nations said Thursday in its annual human development report. With nearly a third of humanity poor or vulnerable to poverty, governments need to put a higher priority on creating jobs and providing basic social services, the United Nations Development Program said in the report. The report warns of the risks to human development posed by climate change, a global “race to the bottom” by big corporations that is forcing more and more workers to live on less and government budgets “balanced on the backs of the poor,” said Khalid Malik, a lead author. About 842 million of all people, or about 12 percent, suffer from chronic hunger, the report said.