UNITED NATIONS: Global development progress does not automatically lead to a greater sense of security, as six in seven people worldwide are plagued by feelings of insecurity, according to new data and analysis by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) published on Tuesday.
Even citizens living in countries that enjoy some of the highest levels of good health, wealth, and education outcomes, are reporting even greater anxiety than a decade ago.
“Despite global wealth being higher than ever before, a majority of people are feeling apprehensive about the future and these feelings have likely been exacerbated by the pandemic,” Achim Steiner, the UNDP Administrator, said.
“In our quest for unbridled economic growth, we continue to destroy our natural world while inequalities are widening, both within and between countries. It is time to recognize the signs of societies that are under immense stress and redefine what progress actually means.”
The report, New Threats to Human Security in the Anthropocene, calls for greater solidarity across borders to tackle the disconnect between development and perceived security.
UNDP also advocates a new approach to development that it hopes will help people to live free from want, fear, anxiety, and indignity.
“We need a fit-for-purpose development model that is built around the protection and restoration of the planet with new sustainable opportunities for all,” said Mr. Steiner.
UNDP first introduced the concept of human security in its landmark Human Development Report, issued in 1994.
The study signaled a radical departure from the idea that people’s security should be assessed by looking only at territorial security and instead should take into account their basic needs, dignity, and safety, to live secure lives.
UNDP believes the imperative to act now has never been clearer. For a second consecutive year, the pandemic has driven down global life expectancy at birth, as well as other measures of overall human development.
Climate change is also likely to become a leading cause of death worldwide, the authors warn and could be responsible for 40 million deaths before the end of the century, even with moderate mitigation of emissions.
The report further examines other threats that have become more prominent in recent years, including those from digital technologies, growing inequalities, conflicts, and the ability of healthcare systems to tackle new challenges like the pandemic.
The authors argue that addressing these threats will require policymakers to consider protection, empowerment, and solidarity alongside one another so that human security, planetary considerations, and human development, all work together and not despite each other.
