The analysis, compiled by researchers at the University’s Graduate Program in International Political Economy and Development was presented at the United Nations.
The global fight against extreme poverty has stalled for a second consecutive year, according to the 2025 Fordham Pope Francis Global Poverty Report, which tracks access to seven basic human needs identified by Pope Francis: water, food, housing, employment, education, gender equity and religious freedom.
The report paints a mixed but increasingly polarized picture of human deprivation. While access to drinking water, education and adequately paid employment improved slightly, conditions worsened in two critical indicators: access to food and religious freedom. Housing and gender equity also showed no signs of progress.
Speaking to the National Catholic Reporter, Henry Schwalbenberg, the report’s director, warned that political shifts among the world’s wealthiest nations are playing a significant role in the slowdown.
“Something has shifted, and it’s the U.S. government that is turning away from the fight against global poverty, and the other countries in Europe say they are focusing more on the problem in Ukraine,” he said.
“That makes me think that the key thing you need to do now is more advocacy,” he said. “We have to kind of push against the tide and say we have to focus on it.”
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