UNDP on Tuesday 19th March, 2024 launched the Human Development Report 2023/2024 alongside the Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Honourable Wale Edun. 

Present at the launch were the Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment, H.E Nkiruka Onyejeocha, Honourable Minister of Youth Development, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Mohamed M.M Fall.

The 2023/24 Human Development Report (HDR), titled "Breaking the Gridlock: Re-imagining cooperation in a polarised world", reveals a troubling trend: the rebound in the global Human Development Index (HDI) – a summary measure reflecting a country’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, education, and life expectancy – has been partial, incomplete, and unequal. 

UNDP published the first Human Development Report in 1990 with an introduction of a new Human Development Index (HDI) to measure development progress. The underlying principle of the HDI, considered radical in 1990, was very simple: national development should be measured not simply by per capita income, as had long been the practice, but also by health, educational and other important indicators.

Speaking at the launch of the 2023/2024 HDR, Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun pointed out that, “The HDR is a rallying cry that we can and must do better than this, and it charts a way forward for conversations on re-imagining development cooperation for a better world.

In re-imagining cooperation, international financial architecture ought to be structured to proactively support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the realisation of human rights. He added that, “The only way to facilitate such a structure is through ambitious reforms, starting with more inclusive, representative and, ultimately, more effective global economic governance.” 

For the last 34 years, UNDP has released the Human Development Report and Index annually, ranking all countries by health, education and living standards.

In the last 3 decades, UNDP has produced more than 800 global, regional, national, and sub-national reports, and organised hundreds of workshops, conferences, and other outreach initiatives to foster human development.

Human development is about expanding the richness of human life rather than simply the richness of the economy. It focuses on people and their opportunities and choices.

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Mohamed Fall speaking during the launch noted that, “The HDR argues that polarisation and mismanagement of cross-border interdependencies are at the root of many contemporary challenges, ranging from debt distress in numerous low- and middle-income countries to threats to food security to a pervasive sense of disempowerment around the world. 

He further added that, “Polarisation within and amongst our countries is creating “a global gridlock,” and preventing us from forging international cooperation towards addressing our shared challenges. This polarisation, whether at the sub-national, national, regional, or global levels signifies an erosion of trust, that is dividing societies into opposing camps and poisoning domestic and international cooperation.”

The HDI is projected to reach record highs in 2023 after steep declines during 2020 and 2021. But this progress is deeply uneven. Rich countries are experiencing record-high levels of human development while half of the world’s poorest countries remain below their pre-crisis level of progress. 

While presenting her remarks, the Resident Representative for UNDP Nigeria, Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah mentioned that “Since its inception, the Human Development Report (HDR) has become a flagship knowledge product.

This unique annual report has not only helped to establish a new broad definition of development, but also to evaluate the progress made and highlight key challenges drawing on statistics. 

This report encourages political leaders and development practitioners around the world to keep raising our ambitions and following up on areas that need support."

Ms. Attafuah further added that, "The Report calls us to change course, otherwise the world may not recover from the decline in human progress.

"The repercussion of not changing course and removing the gridlock is in the additional lives that will be lost, in opportunities that will be forgone, and in feelings of despair.

"The report presents ways forward that hinges on re-imagining cooperation in ways that do not assume away divergent interests or opinions but work with them to deliver global public goods – where we all stand to benefit.

"This report opens a new trilogy of human development reports that will explore further the layers of uncertainty identified in the latest HDR: how to address polarisation (2023-24), shape our shared digital future to advance human development (2025), and marshal human aspirations to navigate the Anthropocene (2026)."