Reflecting several aspects of human existence that impact development, the 2016 Human Development Report [HDR] will on Wednesday be launched by the United Nations Development Programme [UNDP]. The Report will be launched in the new University of Guyana Lecture Theatre under the theme ‘’Human Development for Everyone”.
During the launch the presentation of key findings of the HDR 2016 will be done by Dr. Patrick Chesney, Programme Specialist and Assistant Resident Representative / Programme, UNDP Guyana and Winston Jordan, Minister of Finance will officially launch Report and provide remarks on the findings of the report particularly as it relates to Guyana.
According to the Report, progress in human development has been impressive over the past 25 years. This has been evident by the fact that people now live longer, more children are in school and more people have access to basic social services.
This has been linked to the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals which are global commitments at the turn of the century to end basic human deprivations within 15 years.
But despite the gains, the Report has noted that human development has been uneven, and human deprivations persist. This is due to the realisation that progress has bypassed groups, communities, societies—and people have been left out. In fact some have achieved only the basics of human development, and some not even that.
Added to this new development challenges have emerged, ranging from inequalities to climate change, from epidemics to desperate migration, from conflicts to violent extremism.
The 2016 HDR therefore focuses on how human development can be ensured for everyone—now and in the future.
It starts with an account of the achievements, challenges and hopes for human progress, envisioning where humanity wants to go. Its vision draws from and builds on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that the 193 member states of the United Nations endorsed last year and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that the world has committed to achieve.
The Report also explores who has been left out in the progress in human development and why. It argues that to ensure human development for everyone, a mere mapping of the nature and location of deprivations is not enough. Also entailed in the Report is the fact that some aspects of the human development approach and assessment perspectives have to be brought to the fore.
The Report moreover identifies the national policies and key strategies that will enable every human being to achieve basic human development and to sustain and protect the gains. In addressing the structural challenges of the current global system, it presents options for institutional reforms.