ADDRESS BY HON. PETER KENNETH, MGH, ASSISTANT MINISTER OF STATE FOR PLANNING, NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND VISION 2030 DURING THE LAUNCH OF 2011 GLOBAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT: SUSTAINABILITY AND EQUITY – A BETTER FUTURE FOR ALL , THURSDAY 3 RD NOVEMBER 2011, PANAFRIC HOTEL

Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator UN Agencies in Kenya

Your Excellency Ambassador of Denmark,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is my pleasure to participate in the Kenyan launch of the 2011 Global Human Development Report under the theme “Sustainability and Equity: A better Future for all” . Let me first express my sincere thanks to the UNDP in Kenya, and at the global level, for championing the production of human development reports. These reports have continued to provide invaluable insights into policies and alternative strategies for achieving development.

Ladies and gentlemen:

Since independence, the Government of Kenya has identified the main development challenges facing the country as the alleviation of poverty, employment creation and the reduction of unequal access to land as a major productive resource. Subsequent policy documents identified development challenges as the provision of basic needs like food, education, health care, water, sanitation and housing as being key to human development. While the policy measures put in place by the Government to achieve these objectives and their associated paradigms may have changed over time, the development setbacks seem to have remained the same. The trends in the country's human development underline the fact that we face a number of human development challenges, solutions of which go beyond simply increasing economic growth to address the existing social and economic inequalities.

Ladies and gentlemen:

It is clear that people experience profound differences in influence, access to legal systems, power and social status, whether at the level of individuals, between men and women, or between groups. Glaring inequality in incomes, health status, educational outcomes, and other dimensions of welfare is a stark reality. The persistence of these problems in countries around the world is often seen as the sign of the failure of past and present economic systems to bring about the alleviation of poverty, and development for all .

This report seeks to explore the relationship between sustainability and equity. In doing this, it builds on and extends existing frameworks. Equity and sustainability are potentially important factors affecting the workings of the investment environment and the empowerment of the poor, an important aspect of any to poverty reduction strategy.

The Government of Kenya has continued to focus on sustainability and equity because they are central to poverty-reducing strategies. There are two fundamental reasons. First, inequalities in opportunity or capabilities can be a profound source of poverty, both within societies and across nations and regions. Poor people are poor because of inadequate access to schools, health centers, roads, market opportunities, credit, and effective risk-management mechanisms and so on. Second , reduction in poverty (in incomes, education, and health care) is a product of both aggregate development and its distribution.

Ladies and gentlemen:

In Kenya, the national framework for sustainable development came after the Rio de Janeiro summit in which Kenya embarked on translating Agenda 21 into a national development agenda.

A National Environment Action Plan (NEAP) was developed with a view to enhancing integration of environmental concerns into the national planning and development process. This led to the formulation and adoption of the Environment and Development Policy. Various sectoral plans and strategies aimed at implementing Agenda 21 and other related outcomes of the summit have also been developed within the broad framework of sustainable development. Legislative reforms have been undertaken and a framework law on Environmental Management and Coordination enacted. Institutional reforms have also been undertaken to facilitate implementation of the policies. Furthermore, Kenya has encouraged the use of scientific and technological advancement to inform the decision-making processes concerning environment and development.

It is important that the role of science and technology in sustainable development be understood by both decision-makers and the public. There is need, therefore, for the scientific and technological community to develop partnerships with the general public in order to achieve sustainable development through research, development and training.

Ladies and gentlemen:

In order to mitigate the challenges associated with sustainability and equity, the Government of Kenya, through the recent constitution and other government policy documents including the Kenya Vision 2030 and its Medium Term Plan, has identified various approaches, including:

•  Providing an enabling environment to facilitate the participation of all sections of the population in the production process through access to productive resources and opportunities,

•  Expanding human capabilities by improving access to basic education, health, housing, water and sanitation

•  Increasing access to employment opportunities for the rapidly expanding labour force

•  Increasing people's capacity to assert their rights

•  Redefining the value of life in Kenya in order to increase respect for life and self-esteem in society

•  Addressing the different forms of inequalities existing between regions as well as the different segments of the population. This includes addressing inequalities which are gender-related, and other forms of inequalities affecting specific vulnerable groups; and

•  Addressing the problem of insecurity to enable increased investment and participation by a wider section of the society.

Ladies and gentlemen:

Let me reiterate, in conclusion, that Kenya, like other developing countries in Africa, still face poverty, agriculture and food security, infrastructure, health, energy, water and sanitation, trade and marketing, and regional integration, as familiar areas of constraint.

These and other critical issues will need to be resolved before the realization of a sustainable future. Because development is a complex and difficult process, it is necessary to prioritize national concerns according to their urgency, impact and feasibility of implementation. There is an evident need for greater commitment to national self-reliance, coupled with a clear vision and strategic planning in order for Kenya to achieve “sustainability and equity: a better future for all”.

Thank you

At this point, allow me to declare the 2011 global human development report officially launched