Developing countries on Monday urged a shake-up in the global order to help the world's poorest, at a United Nations summit on ambitious anti-poverty promises that remain far off track.

Hoping to show a focus on more than the war in Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened the development summit on the eve of the annual General Assembly, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to take center-stage.

In 2015, UN member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, 17 targets to transform the world by 2030 including by completely ending extreme poverty and making sure not a single of the planet's eight billion people goes hungry.

Guterres called for a "global rescue plan" on the targets, as he acknowledged that only about 15 percent were on track to be met and that metrics on some were heading in reverse.

"The SDGs aren't just a list of goals. They carry the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people everywhere," Guterres told the summit.

"In our world of plenty, hunger is a shocking stain on humanity, and an epic human rights violation.

"It is an indictment of every one of us that millions of people are starving in this day and age."

Addressing the summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said, "Ultimately, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals depends on the fundamental reform of global social, economic and political relations."

Ambitions sidetracked

In a declaration adopted by consensus Monday, UN member-states reaffirmed their commitment to the goals and to eradicating extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $2.15 a day.

The nations agreed to "act with urgency" to implement the "plan of action for people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership, leaving no one behind," the declaration said.

But efforts to devote money and attention to the goals have been repeatedly set back, including by the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other tumult, worsening climate catastrophes and sharp increases in the cost of living.