New Delhi, July 4 -- A once-in-a-decade UN summit, the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, pulled together governments, businesses and NGOs in Seville recently to address a massive gap in funds to fight poverty. Can it succeed amid US isolationism? Can India help?

This may be one of the toughest challenges facing the world. Developing countries are grappling with a $4-trillion-a-year gap in financing for development and the worst off, as always, are the poorest indebted countries. The money is needed for the world to realize 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that countries adopted in 2015. These range from ending poverty to women's equality, health, education and fighting climate change. In 2024, official dev...