Twelve projects costing US$35 billion could do much more good than the $10 trillion the UN is spending on its official development goals

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As 2025 draws to a close, it’s natural to turn our thoughts to the good we can do in the coming year — not just for our families and communities, but for the world at large. The holidays are a moment not only for personal resolutions but also for asking a bigger question: how can we help the world’s poor as effectively as possible?

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The United Nations’ attempt to answer that question effectively died this year. A decade ago, it committed everything to everyone through the Sustainable Development Goals: it would fix poverty, hunger, disease, unemployment, climate change and war by 2030. This year’s progress report admitted the painful truth: only 18 per cent of 169 UN targets are on track, while a third are stalled or going backward. Although global hunger has declined slightly, child stunting crept upward in Africa. The