
Examining inequality 2019
The report looks at different layers of inequality highlighting the role geography and gender have on factors that increase the chance of poverty. It includes case studies examining inequality, primary health care, digital technology, how countries are being impacted by climate change, and recent global data hindering the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
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OVERVIEW
The Goalkeepers Report is an annual report by the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation which tracks the world’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report begins by taking a close look at inequality and highlights that there are many contributing factors to inequality including geography, demographics, and socio-cultural factors. When comparing health and education data from countries across the globe universal progress is being made. However, the gap between developing nations and developed countries remains large. Overall, very few developing nations are expected to reach the health and education SDG and nearly two-thirds of children in low and low-middle income countries live in districts that will not reach the 2030 SDG for child mortality.
The report looks at gender inequality and highlights that no matter where you are born your life will be harder if you are a girl. Factors continuing to disempower women include reduced access to education and the labour force, and social norms such as the average woman completing 4 hours of unpaid domestic work per day compared to 1 hour by men.
Primary health care systems are integral to keep the poor and most vulnerable healthy. Government investment into these systems results in better overall health outcomes. In countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia investment into primary health care is reducing maternal and child mortality. Three ways to achieve better primary health care with limited budgets include:
- Spending a little more – This means spending the agreed 15% of state budgets on health care
- Spending on the right priorities – Focus resource allocation on primary health care rather than secondary or tertiary healthcare
- Spend more efficiently – Allocate resource where they are most needed
As digital technology continues to evolve, countries like India are using new technologies to connect directly to their citizens. For example, India’s JAM trinity program, that uses biometric authentication and mobile phones so the Indian government can provide subsidies directly to citizen’s bank accounts and verify the recipient’s identity. The use of technology improved the quality and reach of government services demonstrating the effectiveness of aligning technology and policy. As a result, the technology has impacted over 75 million marginalised women.
In areas such as Ethiopia, farmers are already feeling the effects of climate change, however, through investment into productivity and resilience projects, such as developing and distributing improved crop varieties that tolerate stresses like extreme heat or flood, the agricultural sector is adapting to adversity.
Finally, the report looks at the current global data relating to the achievement of the SDGs with a focus on stunting, maternal mortality, and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Although stunting is decreasing, it is doing so slower than other indicators. Nepal’s stunting rate remains high affecting one in three. However, Peru provides an example of how governments can reduce stunting amongst the country’s poorest through health insurance systems for the poor; implementation of conditional cash transfer programs to encourage women in key areas to use health, nutrition, and education services; and targeted key health services.
KEY INSIGHTS
- Where you are born is more predictive of your future than any other factor. A child born in Chad is 55 times more likely to die than a child in Finland.
- Univeral progress is being made. Education and health are improving everywhere in the world. However, inequalities exist between different regions within a single country.
- Gender inequality asymmetrically disadvantages half of humanity. Globally, there is a 24 percentage-point gap between labour force participation between women and men.
- Investment into primary health care systems can help break the cycle of poverty and sickness.
- Digital technology can be used to improve the reach and quality of government services.
- Investment into resilience programs such as developing and distributing improved crop varieties that tolerate stresses like extreme heat or floods can help those mitigate the impact of climate change.
- Inequalities such as stunting, maternal mortality, and NTDs play a role in blocking the achievement of the SDGs.
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RELATED QUOTES
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“All the human capital in the world, though, won’t lead to equality and prosperity if healthy, well-educated girls are subject to social norms that disempower them”
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