Nigeria still ranked 152nd in 2016 Human Development Index by UNDP

ABUJA—Nigeria has been  ranked 152nd in the 2016 report of the African Human Development Index, HDI, released by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP,  in Nairobi, Kenya, last weekend.

Consequently, the country retained its 2014 status as there was no

forward or backward shift from the computation.

Nigeria’s HDI value for 2014, according to UNDP’s 2015 report, was 0.514 which put the country in the low human development category, positioning it at 152  of 188 countries.

But between 2005 and 2014, Nigeria’s HDI value increased from 0.467 to 0.514, an increase of 10.1 percent or an average annual increase of about 1.07 percent.

Similarly, in the latest ranking, values and trends, Nigeria was still placed on Low Human Development, LHD, category outside High Human Development, HHD, Medium Human Development, MHD, which featured 53 countries in Africa.

On the HHD table, Mauritius was placed at the highest 63 position, while Tunisia came last at 96 position on the Group average rating.

Botswana opened the table of MHD with 106 position, while São Tomé and Príncipe came last at 143 position.

Kenya, the host country of the Toyoko International Conference on African Development, TICAD, where UNDP announced the report in a press conference, was placed at 145 position on the list of countries ranked low, with Niger Republic taking the last position at 188.

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Sub-Saharan Africa loses $95 bn annually over gender inequalities

Meanwhile, the UNDP has stated that sub-Saharan Africa was losing an average of $95 billion a year due to gender inequality.

It said the situation escalated in 2014 when the region lost $105 billion or six percent of the region’s GDP.

A report of the World Body, entitled: “Africa Human Development Report 2016: Advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Africa, published on Sunday, stated that the unhealthy development was jeopardizing the continent’s efforts for inclusive human development and economic growth.

“If gender gaps can be closed in labour markets, education, health, and other areas, then poverty and hunger eradication can be accelerated.”

“Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is the right thing to do, and is a development imperative,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark at the launch of the 2016 African Human Development report attended by Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta during the TICAD VI event.