The United Nations is renewing calls on the world’s richest countries to meet their pledges on tackling global poverty and hunger ahead of the G20 summit in Toronto. President Obama is among the world leaders headed to Toronto on Friday. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the global financial crisis shouldn’t excuse inaction on meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “It’s true that financial and economic crisis worldwide has impacted the capacity of member states and United Nations as a whole in meeting this MDG and other development and other global challenges. But that does not — that should not, or must not, give any excuse for the developed countries to slow down their commitments.”