United Nations Population Fund or UNFPA says to lift people out of poverty; governments need to create 469 million new jobs by 2030 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda.
In a statement on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, October 17, today, UNFPA Executive Director Dr Babatunde Osotimehin explains that governments need stronger and better social protection systems to alleviate poverty.
The statement adds that about 40 percent of the proposed 469 million jobs need to be created in the least developed countries, which currently account for only one percent of global economic output.
The director observes that many young people in the labour force in the least developed countries are unable to find productive, paid employment.
The statement emphasizes that eradicating poverty requires sound economic policies that create decent jobs, ensure social protection and human capital of young people to strengthen employability.
Director Osotimehin says ‘too many young girls are married off as child brides, too many become mothers as teenagers, too many suffer from violence and discrimination, too many drop out of school and too many are denied equal participation in the social, economic and political life of their countries’.