A report by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, said Nigeria and the rest of the world are performing poorly in the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030.
This is according to the 2023/24 Human Development Report launched in Nigeria on Wednesday by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun.
The report highlighted how much, the world was failing to meeting the 2030 Agenda and the promise of leaving no one behind.
Accordingly, the launch of the report in Nigeria was designed to extend the conversation on the topics of the report, placing them in a Nigerian context and raise national awareness among key stakeholders about the key findings of the report.
The report noted that though there was a rebound in the global Human Development Index, HDI – a summary measure reflecting a country’s Gross National Income, GNI per capita, education, and life expectancy – has been been partial, incomplete, and unequal.
Speaking at the launch, Edun said Nigeria’s HDI is a in a poor shape and noting that there is urgent need do better.
“The HDR is a rallying cry that we can and must do better than this, and it charts a way forward for conversations on reimagining development cooperation for a better world.
“In re-imagining cooperation, international financial architecture ought to be structured to proactively support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the realization of human rights.
“The only way to facilitate such a structure is through ambitious reforms, starting with more inclusive, representative and, ultimately, more effective global economic governance.”
On his part, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Fall said: “The HDR argues that polarization and mismanagement of cross-border interdependencies are at the root of many contemporary challenges, ranging from debt distress in numerous low- and middle-income countries to threats to food security to a pervasive sense of disempowerment around the world.
He further added: “Polarization within and amongst our countries is creating “a global gridlock,” and preventing us from forging international cooperation towards addressing our shared challenges. This polarization, whether at the sub-national, national, regional, or global levels signifies an erosion of trust, that is dividing societies into opposing camps and poisoning domestic and international cooperation.”
While presenting her remarks, the Resident Representative for UNDP Nigeria, Ms. Elsie Attafuah said, “Since its (HDR) inception, the Human Development Report has become a flagship knowledge product. This unique annual report has not only helped to establish a new broad definition of development but also to evaluate the progress made and highlight key challenges drawing on statistics. “This report encourages political leaders and development practitioners around the world to keep raising our ambitions and following up on areas that need support.
Attafuah further added: “The Report calls us to change course, otherwise the world may not recover from the decline in human progress. “The repercussion of not changing course and removing the gridlock is in the additional lives that will be lost, in opportunities that will be forgone, and in feelings of despair. “The report presents ways forward that hinge on reimagining cooperation in ways that do not assume away divergent interests or opinions but work with them to deliver global public goods – where we all stand to benefit. “This report opens a new trilogy of human development reports that will explore further the layers of uncertainty identified in the latest HDR: how to address polarization (2023-24), shape our shared digital future to advance human development (2025), and marshal human aspirations to navigate the Anthropocene (2026).”
Also, present at the launch were the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of Youth Development, Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed M.M Fall.
DAILY POST recalls that for the last 34 years, UNDP has released the Human Development Report and Index annually, ranking all countries by health, education and living standards.
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