LocationsUNDP highlights future-fit governance as crucial for advancing human development in Asia-Pacific
November 28, 2023
Ulaanbaatar, 28 November 2023 – UNDP unveiled its highly anticipated 2024 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report in Mongolia today, identifying three transformative directions for advancing human development in the region amidst the turbulent and uncertain conditions both regionally and globally. These include prioritizing people at the core of development, recalibrating growth strategies, and driving change.
The report underscores the imperative for a future-fit governance approach, emphasizing anticipation, adaptability, and agility as essential qualities to effectively address the unique development challenges and opportunities faced by countries in the region, including Mongolia.
The report also emphasizes that people and communities should not be passive beneficiaries of development but active agents who can engage fully in economic, social and political life, and in building human security – while remaining committed to a healthy environment and exercising careful stewardship of the planet for future generations.
In his opening remarks, His Excellency Munkhbaatar Lkhagva, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Mongolia and Member of Parliament, emphasized the significance of human development as a universal objective. He highlighted its broad scope, encompassing the provision of equal opportunities and choices, ensuring the benefits of growth, facilitating access to health and education services, fostering a healthy and safe environment, and eradicating poverty, unemployment, and all forms of discrimination. His Excellency stressed that such endeavors should be collective efforts, with the Asia-Pacific region, including Mongolia, actively contributing to the pursuit of these goals.
To empower people as active agents of change, the report urges countries, Mongolia included, to better prioritize people's needs, both present and future. This necessitates revisiting strategies towards human development and growth, better integrating the two, as well as intensifying efforts to transform strategy into practice.
Despite notable strides in poverty reduction, with 1.5 billion people lifted out of extreme poverty in the Asia-Pacific region, the report notes that over 185 million people continue to live in extreme poverty in the region, grappling with precarious lives amid persistent inequalities.
Ms. Matilda Dimovska, UNDP Resident Representative in Mongolia, stated: “In our collective pursuit of prosperity and sustainability for Mongolia and the region, we need to ensure that people remain at the heart of all development efforts and that growth strategies produce the right kind of growth, meaning that it generates quality jobs fit for the future and reinforces human development in all of its dimensions.”
The report also emphasizes that strong focus on economic competitiveness and diversification is paramount when recalibrating the growth strategy. It also underscores that human development cannot be achieved solely through economic growth; recalibrating growth requires equitable and inclusive development to advance human well-being.
According to the latest SDG progress report, the Asia-Pacific region is not on-track for achieving any of the Sustainable Development Goals and in Mongolia out of the measurable 83 SDG indicators, 32 (38.6 per cent) are on track to meet their targets by 2030 as per the latest Voluntary National Review presented in September 2023.
The Human Development Reports were designed and introduced by UNDP in 1990 to provide a comprehensive analysis of global, regional, and local progress, focusing on key indicators such as education, health, and income, to assess and promote sustainable human development.
About UNDP
UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and the planet.
For further inquiries:
Erdenesukh Otgonbayar | Communications Analyst | UNDP in Mongolia | erdenesukh.otgonbayar@undp.org
Yasin Janjua | Economist | UNDP in Mongolia | yasin.janjua@undp.org
