By Dare Akogun
The UN General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi has said the Doha action plan adopted last year, offers a “blueprint” to lift the world’s least developed nations out of poverty amid the ongoing global financial downturn.
The Doha Programme of Action, as it’s formally known, has been designed as a roadmap up to 2031, to foster strengthened commitments between the least developed countries and their development partners.
Kőrösi gave the indication on Wednesday while speaking at the opening of the General Assembly and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) high-level event on the plan being an accelerator of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
According to him, “The world is reeling under the cascading impacts of complex, interlocking challenges and structural limitations and constrained fiscal capabilities make least developed countries the ones first and often most severely impacted.
“Slowing global economic growth projections are unfolding against a bleak backdrop of skyrocketing inflation, fragmented global supply chains and the triple threat of the food, fuel, and finance crises, he said.
The least developed countries (LDCs) suffering the protracted effects of these interconnected crises are often those least responsible for the global trends lashing out on them, including climate change.
The world’s 46 LDCs – a category reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development – are low-income nations confronting severe structural impediments to sustainable development. They are highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks and have low levels of human assets.
Kőrösi who said with the “domino effect” of their limitations threatening to reverse decades of development gains in the face of current crises, added that the Doha Programme for Action, “opens a new window”.
“The action plan which will be active from 2022 to 2031 “manifests a new generation of renewed and strengthened commitments” among their development partners, including the private sector, civil society, and governments at all levels.
“Some of the action plan’s innovative features include establishing an online university, building platforms to support online university-level science, technology, and engineering, and creating an investment support centre.
“The goal is providing a pathway to overcome the impacts of ongoing global crises, build sustainable and inclusive recovery from the pandemic, and build resilience against future shocks, Mr. Kőrösi said.
“He maintains that to help the world help us all to get back on track with the 2030 Agenda, this is the time to show solidarity with the most vulnerable countries by fulfilling commitments instead of backtracking on them.
“The 46 countries need to do their part to expand their social safety nets and improve the domestic environment through good governance and enhancing efficiency, and development partners also need to deliver on their pledges, he said.
Echoing this sentiment, the theme “from potential to prosperity” was adopted for the second segment of the fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries, to be held in Doha from 5 to 9 March 2023.
World leaders, civil society and private sector partners and young people will gather to forge plans to implement the Programme of Action, which the Member States had adopted at the first segment, held on 17 March last year at UN Headquarters.
A declaration on their efforts and the challenges ahead is expected to be adopted at the Doha conference.
