Samia’s appeal to world leaders on human development issues

She was speaking during a live-streamed event that was coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) from New York during the launch of the Human Development Report 2021/22.

President Hassan was the only African leader who took part in the launch of the report via video conferencing yesterday.

She joined other distinguished personalities including UN Secretary General António Guterres; New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden; UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner; UN Secretary-General’s envoy on youth Jayathma Wickramanayake; actor and UN goodwill ambassador Michelle Yeoh; as well as Chair of the Elders Mary Robinson.

In a nutshell, the UN’s Human Development Report titled Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World argues that layers of uncertainty were stacking up and interacting to unsettle life in unprecedented ways.

And, according to President Hassan, the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and the war in Ukraine have caused devastating outcomes on human life.

Tanzania, and the entire East and other African regions, she said, have experienced consecutive seasons of poor rains and drought that have put millions of people at the risk of starvation and economic catastrophe.

All this, the President said, was happening on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic that has claimed many lives and damaged livelihoods.

According to President Hassan, the pandemic has compounded the inequalities both within and among global countries, with women bearing the brunt of it all.

“We need to take the opportunity to uplift humanity in its wider sense so as to move forward and transform our world based on the principles of inclusion and global solidarity,” she said, noting that the pandemic needs to be regarded as a wake-up call.

“It has reminded us that we need to change the way we think about development to ensure that our children and future generations will not pay the price of our mistakes,” she said.

Meanwhile, Tanzania has maintained its position as the second country in human development in East Africa, a new UN report has shown, detailing how multiple crises have had a negative impact on countries’ efforts to boost their people’s living conditions.

In its Human Development Report 2021/22, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ranks Tanzania on position 160, the same as it was in 2020.

Among member states of the East African Community (EAC), Tanzania comes second after Kenya which is ranked 152nd globally.

Rwanda, which is ranked 165th globally comes third among EAC member states while Uganda comes fourth and is ranked 166th globally. Like Tanzania, both Rwanda and Uganda have also maintained their 2020 positions.

The bloc’s newest member, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) comes fifth in the region and 179th globally.

Burundi and South Sudan are ranked 187th and 191st globally.

Mauritius is the only African country that appears on the list of countries with very high levels of human development.

It comes 63rd in the global ranking where Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Hong Kong (China) and Australia occupy the top five positions in that order.

According to the report, the world was lurching from crisis to crisis, trapped in a cycle of fire-fighting and unable to tackle the roots of the troubles that confront it.

It warns that without a sharp change of course, the world may be heading towards even more deprivations and injustices.

It says that the last two years have had a devastating impact for billions of people around the world, when crises like Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine hit back-to-back, and interacted with sweeping social and economic shifts, dangerous planetary changes, and massive increases in polarisation.

“For the first time in the 32 years that UNDP has been calculating it, the Human Development Index, which measures a nation’s health, education, and standard of living, has declined globally for two years in a row,” the statement reads.

Human development has fallen back to its 2016 levels, reversing much of the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

The reversal is nearly universal as over 90 percent of countries registered a decline in their HDI score in either 2020 or 2021 and more than 40 percent declined in both years, signalling that the crisis is still deepening for many.

While some countries are beginning to get back on their feet, recovery is uneven and partial, further widening inequalities in human development.

Latin America, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have been hit particularly hard.

“The world is scrambling to respond to back-to-back crises. We have seen with the cost of living and energy crises that, while it is tempting to focus on quick fixes like subsidising fossil fuels, immediate relief tactics are delaying the long-term systemic changes we must make,” says Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.

“We are collectively paralyzed in making these changes. In a world defined by uncertainty, we need a renewed sense of global solidarity to tackle our interconnected, common challenges.”

The report explores why the change needed isn’t happening and suggests there are many reasons, including how insecurity and polarisation are feeding off each other today to prevent the solidarity and collective action people need to tackle crises at all levels.

New calculations show, for instance, that those feeling most insecure are also more likely to hold extreme political views.

“Even before Covid-19 hit, we were seeing the twin paradoxes of progress with insecurity and polarisation…. Today, with one-third of people worldwide feeling stressed and fewer than a third of people worldwide trusting others, we face major roadblocks to adopting policies that work for people and planet,” says Achim Steiner.

“This thought-provoking new analysis aims to help us break this impasse and chart a new course out of our current global uncertainty.

“We have a narrow window to re-boot our systems and secure a future built on decisive climate action and new opportunities for all.”

To chart a new course, the report recommends implementing policies that focus on investment — from renewable energy to preparedness for pandemics, and insurance—including social protection— to prepare our societies for the ups and downs of an uncertain world. While innovation in its many forms technological, economic, cultural—can also build capacities to respond to whatever challenges come next.

“To navigate uncertainty, we need to double down on human development and look beyond improving people’s wealth or health,” says UNDP’s Pedro Conceição, the report’s lead author.

“These remain important. But we also need to protect the planet and provide people with the tools they need to feel more secure, regain a sense of control over their lives and have hope for the future.”