NEW YORK, 01 April. - (ANA) - Last year, the international community came together in Sevilla, Spain, uniting behind a landmark agreement to secure financing for sustainable development. This month, Member States will gather at UN Headquarters in New York for the inaugural Financing for Development Week to follow up on the commitments made. The 2026 edition of the Financing for Sustainable Development Report will also be launched. Here are 6 things you should know.  

 

 

 

 

This is the number of people who live in countries where governments spend more on debt interest payments than on health and education combined: a stark sign that finance is being diverted from development.  

 

 

 

 

This is the annual SDG financing gap in developing countries. Yet annual investment growth in developing countries fell from 8per cent to 4 per cent between 2007 and 2020, and official development assistance (ODA) decreased by 6 per cent in 2024, with expectations of further decline of 10 to 18 per cent in 2025, adding pressure to developing countries’ finances at exactly the wrong moment.

 

 

 

 

The number of participants from 187 countries who joined the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla in 2025, including nearly 50 Heads of State and Government, more than 200 ministers, and over 4,000 stakeholders. The scale of participation reflected broad recognition that the world needed a new course correction.

 

 

 

 

The Sevilla Commitment includes a commitment by donors to double support for stronger fiscal systems by 2030 for countries aiming to increase tax-to-gross domestic product ratios, especially those seeking to increase their ratios to at least 15 per cent.  

 

 

 

 

The amount by which countries committed to increase annual lending by multilateral development banks to expand finance for social investment and transformative growth, while advancing measures to reduce borrowing costs and strengthen the voice of debtor countries.

 

 

 

 

The number of initiatives launched through the Sevilla Platform for Action, with more than 80 countries nominating National Focal Points to carry the agenda forward. Countries will come together at UN headquarters in New York during the 2026 FFD Week from 20 to 24 Aprilto lean into solutions to deliver on the promise of Sevilla.

 

UN DESA’s Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO) is organizing the events this month, focusing on following up on the promise of the Sevilla Commitment, including the launch of the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2026 on 9 April and the inaugural FFD Week on 20-24 April 2026.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/01 April 2026 - - -