Putting resilience at the heart of development
Taken as a whole, the world's population today is healthier, wealthier, and better educated than ever before. Yet, despite incredible progress, disconcerting realities stubbornly persist.
Many people still live in extreme poverty, even where economies are growing rapidly. More than 20 percent of the world's population lives in states that are considered fragile and highly vulnerable. Global economic and financial systems remain volatile, and armed violence and organized criminal networks are a growing threat to human security in many countries, and women continue to face serious barriers to real empowerment. Meanwhile, our planetary boundaries are being stretched to the limit, and as the world's population increases from the current 7 billion people to a projected almost 9 billion in 2040, the stress on our planet and its resources will continue to increase rapidly if current consumption and production patterns continue.
Our political, social, economic, and technological tools and our policies need to urgently address these challenges, and building resilience is at the very heart of this effort.