UNDP report highlights progress, targets in addressing inequality

UNDP report highlights progress, targets in addressing inequality

AMMAN “” The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Monday launched the global Human Development Report, a blueprint for development efforts for governments, the private sector and civil society.

The report, titled "Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: Inequalities in human development in the 21st Century“, reveals that Jordan's Human Development Index (HDI) value for 2018 is 0.723, placing the Kingdom in the "high human development“ category as 102nd out of 189 countries and territories. 

Between 1990 and 2018, Jordan's HDI value increased from 0.616 to 0.723, an increase of 17.4 per cent, according to a UNDP statement.

 UNDP Resident Representative Sara Ferrer Olivella said the report highlights why understanding and addressing inequality is key to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and preparing for the 21st century's "seismic shifts", such as climate change and technological advancements. 

"Jordan has witnessed substantial gains in health, education and living standards, yet the basic needs of many remain unmet while a next generation of inequalities opens,“ Ferrer Olivella was quoted in the statement as saying.

To ensure that average numbers do not mask inequality, the report measures the Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI), which considers inequality in all three dimensions of the HDI: Life expectancy at birth, education and