United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Maldives
on Monday, 9th December 2019, launched the global Human Development Report, at an event held at the
Faculty of Education, Maldives National University (MNU).
The Human Development Report focuses on inequalities
in the theme "Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: Inequalities
in human development in the 21st century". The report addresses inequalities
across health, education, access to technologies and vulnerability to economic
and climate-related shocks and proposes policies to tackle the issues.
The launching was inaugurated by Minister of Planning
and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam and UNDP Resident Representative to Maldives
Akiko Fujii.
According to UNDP, "Inequality is persistent
across the globe, in all societies", adding that a better understanding of
inequality is necessary to create inclusive and just societies.
UNDP statistics revealed that while 1.3 billion people
are multi-dimensionally poor, over 886 million people live in middle-income
countries.
"It is becoming increasingly evident that
economic growth alone cannot translate to an improvement in the quality of life
of all citizens", said UNDP.
During Minister Aslam's address, he announced the
government's decision to implement decentralized policies through a
"special development plan" to establish better opportunities for
education, employment and healthcare in five main regions and nine subregions
of the country.
"We are now embarking on a trajectory where
decentralization should really happen. We all know that development and all
opportunities have been very much centralized to Male'", said the
minister.
"The critical thing that will enable this to
happen is transportation. So next year, the government will launch a domestic
maritime public transport system, linking every island" through a
high-speed and modern ferry.
Following the speech, a panel discussion was held,
focusing on the broader themes of inequality addressed through the Human
Development Report.
Panellists include Police Secretary at the President's
Office Aminath Shauna, MNU's Dean of Medicine Dr Sheeza Ali, Executive
Committee Member of the NGO 'Advocating for the Rights of Children', Muruthala
Moosa, and Board Member of the NGO 'Blind and Visually Impaired Society',
Fathimath Ibrahim. The panel was moderated by UNDP Maldives' Development
Economist Raniya Sobir.
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