Talatona- Angola has obtained a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.591%, which places the country in the "medium human development" category, in the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report for 2023, the UNDP's resident representative in Angola Denise António said Thursday.
Denise Antonio, who was presenting the Human Development Report 2023-2024 in Luanda, under the theme "Overcoming the Impasse: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World", said Angola is in position 150, among the 193 countries and territories with the HDI growing every year.
Data shows that between 1999 and 2022, Angola saw improvements in the areas of HDI value, which went from 0.369 to 0.591 percent, a variation of 60.2 percent, according to the UNDP official.
The UNDP official added that life expectancy at birth in Angola has risen from 45.4 to around 61.9 percent, a variation of 16.5 years, while the level of years of schooling improved from 4.4 to 12.2 years, a variation of 7.8 percent in terms of age.
Denise António said the average number of years of schooling improved from 3.4 to 5.8 years, with a variation of 2.4 per cent, while Gross National Income per capita rose from 3,735 US dollars to 5,328 US dollars, an increase of 42.6 percent.
The official added that the economic recession prolonged by the Covid-19 pandemic, slowed down this progress, where inequalities had affected human development, with Angola's HDI loss due to inequality estimated at 41.8 per cent.
"Promoting gender equality and women's empowerment is fundamental to boosting human development. For example, in Angola, the value of the Human Development Index (HDI) for women is much lower than for men, while women also perform worse in terms of education and earn less on average," she said.
Denise António said inequalities in human development can be corrected, while some lessons must be learned quickly, such as capitalizing global connections, choosing cooperation over conflict, and following three ideas for immediate action.
Reducing agency gaps, making institutions more people-centered, co-owned and future-oriented and repelling all forms of polarization, correcting misperceptions and disinformation and creating spaces for deliberation to bridge divides are some of the solutions the UNDP official has cited.
Denise Antonio recognizes that the National Development Plan 2023-2027 and the long-term vision, Angola 2050, are recognition of the Angolan government's efforts to promote Human Development.
The Secretary of State for Planning, Victor Hugo Guilherme, on his turn said that the release of the Human Development Report 2023/24 is an opportunity to assess the results of the implementation of policies, programs and projects by the government, in partnership with the different social and development organizations, whose impact is summarized by the Human Development Index, as well as the Multi-Ethnic Poverty Index.MAG/DAN/AMP
