World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019: Challenges in attaining SDG

The United Nations report World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 discusses various challenges in attaining the sustainable development goals. The challenges listed are:

• Economic growth is uneven and is failing to reach where it is most needed. Per capita incomes would stagnate or grow only marginally in 2019 in several parts of Africa, Western Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Even where the per capita growth is strong, economic activity is driven by core industrial and urban regions, leaving peripheral and rural areas behind.
• The report notes that eradicating poverty by 2030 will require both double-digit growth in Africa and steep reductions in income inequality. This seems a distant possibility in the current scenario.
• The confluence of risks is clouding and it may severely disrupt economic activity and inflict significant damage on longer-term development prospects.
• The various risks include escalation of trade policy disputes; financial instabilities linked to elevated levels of debt; and rising climate risks, as the world experiences an increasing number of extreme weather events.

The report notes that the simultaneous appearance of several important risks endangers efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development containing 17 specific goals to promote prosperity and social well-being while protecting the environment.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2019