The global financial crisis may hinder efforts to halt the spread HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries by 2015, according to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and reported by Agence France-Presse/The News International.

The U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) include measures to stem these diseases by 2015.

“I am deeply concerned about the impact of this crisis on the developing world, particularly on the poorest of the poor and the serious setback this is likely to have on efforts to meet major goals,” Ban said in a statement.

According to the article, Ban explained that the financial crisis—the worst since the 1929 stock market crash—will hit poorer countries twice as hard because global demand for their exports will decline. In addition, those same countries will have difficulty recapitalizing their banks as funding becomes scarce.