By: Sulaiman Aruna Sesay

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), on Wednesday 13th March 2024, issued out a press release on the findings of UNDP that shows how rich countries are applauded and poor countries languishing. The uneven development progress is leaving the poorest behind, exacerbating inequality, and stoking political polarization on a global scale. The result is dangerous gridlock that must be urgently tackled through collective action, according to a new report released on the said date by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).                                                                                                                                                                                             The Human Development Report (HDR) titled “Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarized 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. According to report, the HDI is projected to reach record highs in 2023 after steep declines during 2020 and 2021. The report added that, the 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”, the report mentioned.

It was reported that Global inequalities are compounded by substantial economic concentration. The report revealed that, almost 40 percent of global trade in goods is concentrated in three of fewer countries; and in 2021 the market capitalization of each of the three largest tech companies in the world surpassed the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than 90 percent of countries that year. “The widening human development gap revealed by the report shows that the two-decade trend of steadily reducing inequalities between wealthy and poor nations is now in reverse. Despite our deeply interconnected global societies, we are falling short. We must leverage our independence as well as our capacities to address our shared and existential challenges and ensure people’s aspirations are met,” said Achim Steiner, head of UNDP.

The report argues that advancing international collective action is hindered by an emerging ‘democracy paradox’: while 9 in 10 people worldwide endorse democracy, over half of global survey respondents express support for leaders that may undermine it by bypassing fundamental rules of the democratic process, as per data analysed in the report. Half of the people surveyed worldwide report having no or limited control over their lives and over two-thirds believe they have little influence on their government’s decision.

According to the report, political polarization is also another growing concern with global repercussions. Along with a sense of powerlessness, report authors say, it is fuelling inward-turning policy approaches-starkly at odds with the global cooperation needed to address urgent issues like the decarbonisation of our economies, misuse of digital technologies, and conflict. The stated that, this is particularly alarming in light of 2023’s record-breaking temperatures, which emphasize the immediate need for united action to tackle the climate crisis, or in the advent of artificial intelligence as a new and fast-evolving technological frontier with little or no regulatory guard rails.