World Social Report 2021: UN Reveals How to Help People in Rural Areas Develop, Lift Millions out of Poverty

- The United Nations has said urban migration is not the best way to help people in the world’s rural areas develop

- In a newly launched World Social Report 2021, the UN recommended improved connectivity to improve the lives of rural dwellers and lift them out of poverty

- As the world focuses on boosting the economy and addressing climate change amid COVID-19, the WSR 2021 recommends new strategies to ensure rural dwellers are not left behind

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The United Nations on Thursday, May 20, launched and presented key findings from its World Social Report 2021 (WSR 2021) titled “Reconsidering Rural Development”.

The World Social Report is a flagship publication of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs on major social development issues.

In a statement sent to Legit.ng, Sharon Birch-Jeffrey of the Sustainable Development Section, UN's Department of Global Communications, said the report offers new strategies to ensure that the 3.4 billion people who live in rural areas are not left behind as global efforts focus on boosting socio-economic growth and tackling climate change amid the COVID-19 recovery.

The report calls for an end to the rural-urban divide and offers new approaches to advance rural development that would allow rural populations to reach the urban standard of living without having to migrate to urban areas.

According to the UN, improved connectivity, not urban migration, is the best way to help people in the world’s rural areas develop.

The WSR 2021 submitted that new technologies can bring better jobs and city quality of life to rural populations, lifting millions out of poverty.

Legit.ng gathers that the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the new technologies opened up new opportunities for rural development.

His words:

“Opportunities exist to build a greener, more inclusive and resilient future. The experience of the pandemic has shown, for example, that where high-quality Internet connectivity is coupled with flexible working arrangements, many jobs that were traditionally considered to be urban can be performed in rural areas too.”

Among others, the report recommended extending urban benefits to rural areas (e.g. improved access to education and health care) and boosting the agricultural sector.

The WSR 2021 stated that policies would need to be put in place to build resilience and reduce the vulnerability of rural livelihoods to climate change.

It also recommended taking steps to develop crop varieties that are less land-intensive, practising mixed farming and switching to the circular economy.

Expansion of non-farm activities, a potential source of income for young people, was also recommended by the report as part of the strategies to improve the lives of rural dwellers.

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In a previous report, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state, there was no going back in his administration’s resolve to continue vigorous pursuit of its rural development agenda in the state.

The Enugu state governor disclosed that a lot of development projects are being carried out in the rural communities by his administration, especially in the areas of health, infrastructure, education, among others, to uplift the living standard of rural dwellers.

Ugwuanyi, maintaining that the "people in the rural areas have suffered enough”, promising that his administration will leave no stone unturned to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the state, who are largely residing in the rural areas.

Source: Legit.ng