2.2 billion people poor, most vulnerable to natural disasters – UN

TOKYO: More than 2.2 billion people are “poor or near-poor,” with financial crises, natural disasters, soaring food prices and violent conflicts threatening to exacerbate the problem, a United Nations report said on Thursday.

While poverty is in decline worldwide, growing inequality and “structural vulnerabilities” remain a serious threat, said the report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), released in Tokyo.