The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched the Liberia Global Human Development Report under the theme:Beyond Income, Beyond Averages,Beyond Today: Inequalities in Human Development in the 21st Century.
Officially launching the report on Monday, December 9, Liberia’s Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor said government’s development roadmap, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development’ seeks to provide access, increase equality and ensure inclusion for all under a development framework.
The Liberian Vice President explained that the 2019 HDB provides an authoritative and unbiased analysis of ranking in certain key sectors including Human Development Index (HBI) and Global Development Index (GDI), among others, which reflects the quality of human development,
gender gaps, women empowerment, environmental and social economic sustainability.
She noted that based on findings from the report, government, policymakers and international partners need to jointly craft new policies, put in place new plans and prescriptions which will help
Government tackle the issues, as everyone looks towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2030.
She pointed out that no nation can achieve the SDG goals of leaving no one behind, if both trends are not inclusive or remain stagnated, unsustainable, and the gender gap continues to widen in terms of
empowerment, inclusion, and better access to opportunity for women.
She also noted that no one can achieve the SDGs if climate change and environmental sustainability are not confronted, adding that if concession based modules of development are not revisited to ensure economic diversification, poor citizen rate engagement and effective governance of natural resources.
“We will never achieve the SDGs if land tenure and land rights do not address issues of alternative livelihood to project their families in concession areas, if government fails to provide proper education by employment, skills, innovation and jobs for the youthful population of which Liberia has about 60 percent,” Vice President Taylor warned.
She also said if government fails to mobilize resources of domestic revenues, expand the tax base and reduce reliance on external finance, it would never achieve the SDGs.She added that if nationl budgets are not aligned with national priorities to reduce inequalities, lift level of poverty,, Liberia will not achieve the SDGs.
She recommended that in order to achieve the SDGs, issues of gender equality and women empowerment should be prioritized.
TSS/abj/APA