UNDP wants human issues addressed

THE United Nations Development Programme is calling for a global fight against the fast-decreasing human development index that is threatening livelihoods, especially in developing countries.
UNDP administrator Helen Clark told the World Affairs Council in the United States that unless nothing was done to address environmental degradation and inequalities, the world was likely to face the human development progress “slow to a crawl” below 15% of the expected
case by 2050.
She said developing countries with limited resources, growing cities, young population and high disaster risks could see the best scenario of HDI by 2050 if these issues were addressed.

“The only way forward is a renewed focus on inequality and sustainability and that the Rio+20 outcome document highlights how environmental protection and economic development are linked, which sustainable development is the only viable path for development.
“As we approach 2050, the more polluted and unequal our world becomes, the more governments will need to view environmental and social protection systems not as luxuries to be acquired when countries become wealthy, but as necessities, vital to sustain development and meet the needs of citizens,” she said.
Clark outlined the best and worst case scenario that distinguished the importance of human development and achieving the 2050 UN Vision.
She said if countries collaborate to lift human development through social growth, then the world could reach a global HDI of 19% higher by 2050 instead of a 15% drop. 
Clark addressed world leaders at the conference last week with her presentation titled ‘Our World in 2050: More Equitable and Sustainable – or Less?’