Asia-Pacific countries may achieve SDGs in 2065: Human Development Report

 Kathmandu, Dec. 19

Climate migration in Asia-Pacific surpasses the global average, with over half of new disaster-induced displacements, concluded the Regional Human Development Report 2024 (Making Our Future: New Directions for Human Development in Asia and the Pacific) published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The report published on Tuesday informed that in 2022, about 32.6 million people were internally displaced due to climate-related hazards such as storms and floods, a 41 per cent increase compared to the previous decade's average.

Likewise, climate change, coupled with the 50 per cent likelihood of another pandemic within the next 25 years, poses significant existential threats, amplified by human-nature interactions and rapid urbanization in a region that is home to six of the world's largest coastal mega-cities.

Speaking at the programme organised to launch the report and interact on the contemporary development issues, Minister for Foreign Affairs, NP Saud urged the international and global bodies to take the climate change impacts on mountain countries seriously.

"When we talk about the menace of climate change, general trend is to think of island countries and coastal areas. However, fact is that mountain countries are equally vulnerable, if not more," he said, "Any upset on mountain ecology has cascading impacts downward. In the recently concluded COP28 as well, this was our key message."

The report revealed that the region is not on track to achieve any of the SDGs by 2030, but by 2065.

While people in the region face multiple existential threats to their security from climate change and pandemics, new patterns in globalisation amidst intense demographic and technological changes are challenging the established drivers of economic growth and job creation across the region.

The report urged the countries here to have their development strategies focused more on improving the lives of both current and future generations in order to catch up on the human development backlog and confront turbulent times that lie ahead.

"Deep-seated inequality remains, with the wealthiest 10 per cent controlling over half of total income, and has been worsening particularly in South Asia. An estimated 185 million people region-wide live in extreme poverty, earning below $2.15 a day, and 1 billion are classified as 'societally poor', living on less than half the median income," read the report.

The region hosts half of the world's multidimensionally deprived, about 500 million, based on the multidimensional poverty index of education, health, and living standards. Likewise, Asia-Pacific struggles with stark gender biases, recently seeing its worst gender equality slump in two decades. Approximately 800 million women are not in the workforce, illustrated by nations like Iran, with a female labor force participation of 14 per cent, and Pakistan with 25 per cent, despite high educational enrollment, compared to Viet Nam's 69 per cent.

About 40 per cent of the region's people are digitally excluded, with notable gender and urban-rural inequities.

The report noted that integrated national social protection systems can provide cash support along with skills training and job opportunities particularly for the 'missing middle' – those in the informal sector or marginally above the poverty line. Nepal has shown how merging cash transfers with livelihood support, and better financial access and health benefits, can help enhance resilience among vulnerable women, it said.

But because of several factors both external and internal, Nepal’s progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has not been as steady as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). "We are still facing significant resource gap. However, our commitment is strong; our efforts sincere," said FM Saud.

According to him, the periodic development plans have consistently emphasised the need for enhancing human capabilities with significant investments in education and health. This is the reason behind Nepal’s relatively better performance in social sectors. The Minister said that the Human Development Index is one of the three criteria for graduation from least developed country and this was the first criteria that Nepal met years back.

Former Foreign Secretary of Nepal and Ambassador Designate for Canada, Bharat Raj Paudyal, stressed on the need of enhancing human capabilities by investing in relevant education.

Stating that every policy requires constant assessment and reforms, he said that capacity to respond disasters and public health emergency should be enhanced in Nepal. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 December 2023.