United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - Gambia office have recently launched the
2019 UNDP global human development report, under the theme: Beyond Income,
Beyond Averages, Beyond Today.
The
report highlights the various inequalities such as gender, the differently
abled and services and amenities amongst people from various income ranges and
finds a broader solution for policy makers to solving these issues.
Seraphina
Wakana, UN resident coordinator explained that the report, which shifted its
focus from economic growth, to a people centered development since the 90’s,
explores inequalities in human development in the 21st century. “It pays
specific attention to the new generation of inequalities caused by climate and
technological changes and recommending ways to reduce them.”
She
said while income and wealth are key components of assessing inequalities, the
report emphasizes that understanding income and wealth disparities require
examining other forms of inequalities in health, education, dignity and respect
for human rights that contribute to income and wealth inequalities.
The
UNDP resident representative, Aissata Dee explained that the HDR applied an
approach that focuses on enriching people, opportunities and choices beyond
enriching economies where people live in.
“The
last integrated household survey found that 69.5 percent of the rural
population live in poverty compared to 31.2 of the urban population,” she
added.
