The Economic Pillar and SDG 1: POVERTY REDUCTION
The
economic pillar aims to achieve an average
economic growth rate of 10% per annum in the country and sustaining the
same until 2030 by targeting the following sectors: Infrastructure,
tourism, agriculture, trade, manufacturing, business process off-shoring and IT
enabled services, and financial services.
Why does poverty
reduction matter?
Poverty is multidimensional. It is not simply lack
of adequate income, rather it explains the numerous disadvantages poor people
experience across different areas of their lives including health, education
and living standards. Poverty increases the risk of mental health
problems and can be both a causal factor and a consequence of mental ill
health. Poverty produces an environment that is extremely harmful to
individuals’, families’ and communities’ mental health. The impacts of poverty
are present throughout the life course (before birth and into older age) and
have cumulative impacts. However, there are evidence-based measures to progress
mental health promotion, ill health prevention, early intervention, and care
and treatment that lead to resilience and recovery and can be delivered at
individual, family, community and national levels.
Contributing factors
Extreme poverty- over half the global population
living at the bottom of the economic pyramid on less than US$8 per day (Approx.
Kshs 800 per day). Economic growth is a powerful and successful instrument for
reducing poverty only if it is inclusive
and equitable and if the needs of the poor and marginalized are at the centre
of development priorities.
Social exclusion- It involves “the lack or denial of
resources, rights, goods and services, and the inability to participate in the
normal relationships and activities, available to the majority of people in a
society, whether in economic, social,
cultural or political arenas”. It denies many people including the urban
and rural poor, indigenous people, ethnic minorities, people living with
disabilities, women, and youth the opportunities and capabilities that they
need to improve their lives thus plays a major role in perpetuating poverty and
embedding inequalities of outcomes and opportunities. Growing or high
inequality is detrimental to economic growth.
Increasing or high vulnerability to shock-
Shocks such as slow and rapid onset disasters, economic recession and conflict
are destroying the livelihoods and well-being of millions of people in the
world, particularly the poor. The ‘near poor’ (those who live just above the
extreme poverty threshold) are particularly vulnerable to shocks, less able to
cope with the impact of disasters and face the risk of falling back into
extreme poverty
Poorer
people are generally more exposed and more susceptible
to hazards. Their already subsistence-level assets get wiped out during
disasters, further lowering their capacity to absorb, cope and recover
Rising unemployment- More
than 200 million people globally are unemployed, with 74 million young people
(aged 15–24) looking for work in 2014. The employment situation is
deteriorating in some emerging and developing economies, with vulnerable
employment still high.
The unsustainable management of the environment
and natural resources- ecosystem services and other non-market goods make
up 50-90% of the total source of livelihoods among rural and forest-dwelling
households living in poverty. Over 13 million hectares of forests are being
cleared each year and this destruction is contributing up to 20% of global
greenhouse gas emissions and disrupting the livelihoods of millions of forest dependent
people.
Escalating development- countries
often struggle to implement transformative sustainable development strategies
however, the development and integration of financial markets have increased
the number of options to choose from to advance investments in sustainable
development. Ensuring that all countries, and in particular the poorest and most
vulnerable, are able to access available financing opportunities is key to
promoting inclusive growth and achieving sustainable development.
SDG 1 IN
ACTION
Jobs
and livelihoods
In Kenya, with support from UNDP’s
African Facility for Inclusive Markets, the Youth Enterprise Fund has supported
89,000 youth enterprises, offered market support to 1,800 entrepreneurs, trained
over 15,000 youth in entrepreneurship and facilitated over 2,000 youth in
job-seeking efforts through the Youth Employment Scheme. This has been a key
success to ensure public-private sector dialogue in support of private sector
development.
Access
to basic services
The UNDP Water Governance
Facility has assisted the government in strengthening a human rights-based approach to anti-corruption
in water at the ministry level and has also improved the coordination between
the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and the Ministry of Water
and Irrigation. The project raised the awareness of the local population about
their right to regular, safe, sufficient and affordable water and also about
their responsibilities. Consequently, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission’s
complaint telephone line has received fewer calls on water corruption issues
Disaster
risk reduction and climate change
In 2014, UNDP supported mainstreaming
of climate risk management into new gender-responsive development plans in
Kenya.
References
Eliott, I. (June 2016) Poverty and mental health: a review to inform the Joseph Rowntree's Foundation Anti-Poverty Strategy. London: Mental Health Foundation
UNDP (Jan 2016) Support to the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 1.
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