United Nations Development Programme Research Articles

The Effects of Cognitive Self-Consciousness, Cultural Values, and Socioeconomic Context on Anxiety in Youth: A Meta-Analysis

Youth mental health is a global health priority due to its increasing prevalence and adverse outcomes. Although the relationship between metacognitions and anxiety is well-documented in adults, further research is needed for the younger populations. This research examines two questions: (a) What is the correlation between cognitive self-consciousness and anxiety in children and adolescents? (b) Is this correlation moderated by cultural and socioeconomic differences? Based on 22 effect sizes from 8,459 participants in 11 countries, a meta-analysis was performed to find the overall effect size, heterogeneity, publication bias, and the moderating effect of Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions and United Nation Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI). Using the random-effects model, the results revealed that cognitive self-consciousness ( r = .312, p < .0001, 95% confidence interval: [.257, .365]) showing moderate effect size in association with anxiety in children and adolescents. Meta-regressions indicated that power distance, masculinity, and HDI were important moderators. The findings show a significant correlation between cognitive self-consciousness and mental wellness in youth. The results have important implications for understanding the influence of cultural beliefs and national-level context on the associations between cognition and psychopathology. This article provides consistent evidence that there is a lack of mental health research resources in the Global South.

DEVELOPMENT OF A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO ASSESSING THE COMPLIANCE OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS WITH THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The purpose of the article is to develop and test in practice a systematic approach to assessing the compliance of educational programs of universities with the goals of sustainable development of the United Nations. The systematic approach includes the development of a sequence of development and approval of a questionnaire to determine the degree of compliance of educational programs of universities with the goals of sustainable development. Methodology. The survey was based on a comparison of the data of three groups of respondents (developers of educational programs and their curators at three levels of higher education). Approbation of the approach took place on the basis of the National Transport University (Kyiv, Ukraine). In total, 64 curators and developers of educational programs took part in the survey (this is 60% of educational programs of NTU). The results of the survey showed that educational program developers understand the importance of including the tasks of the United Nations Development Program in separate educational components or modules of disciplines in order to form relevant competencies in students. However, respondents noted the need to review educational programs and their components, as well as the educational process in the context of compliance with the goals of sustainable development and its ecologization. Practical implications. The results of this research will be used during the regular review of educational programs and their components at the National Transport University, and will also serve as a basis for further improvement of the concept of sustainable development of the NTU. The research data can be distributed to other universities. Also, the research results will be used in the project the Transformational Learning Network for Resilience – Enabling Ukrainian higher education to ensure a sustainable and robust reconstruction of (post-war) Ukraine (TransLearnN). The results of this study will contribute to the development of the program of sustainable development of universities in Ukraine. Value / Originality. The obtained results will make it possible to determine prospective directions for improving the educational process and educational programs of universities, taking into account the goals of sustainable development and trends in the ecologization of education.

The Role of Infrastructure Investment on Inclusive Growth and Human Development Index: Evidence from Emerging Economies

The paper examines the effect of infrastructure investment on the Human Development Index (HDI) score for five middle-income countries, namely Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, Mexico and Vietnam. The dynamic panel data model was used in the study. Data was sourced from the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme focused on the prevalence and utilisation of five types of infrastructure in the countries mentioned above: electricity, water, sanitation, transport, telecommunications, and schools. The findings show that HDI is too narrow to be used as the main tool to measure human development and suggest that water and sanitation as well as the electrification of households were crucial infrastructures that had a positive impact on the HDI and be viewed as one type of infrastructure when researching the relationship between infrastructure investment and the HDI. The paper concluded and highlighted the need for infrastructure investors and policymakers to have a multi-dimensional approach to measuring the impact they would like to make. In this way, they would have more pronounced insights about which infrastructure they should invest in and how it will improve the wellbeing of society.

Fusing remote and social sensing data for flood impact mapping

AbstractThe absence of comprehensive situational awareness information poses a significant challenge for humanitarian organizations during their response efforts. We present Flood Insights, an end‐to‐end system, that ingests data from multiple nontraditional data sources such as remote sensing, social sensing, and geospatial data. We employ state‐of‐the‐art natural language processing and computer vision models to identify flood exposure, ground‐level damage and flood reports, and most importantly, urgent needs of affected people. We deploy and test the system during a recent real‐world catastrophe, the 2022 Pakistan floods, to surface critical situational and damage information at the district level. We validated the system's effectiveness through various statistical analyses using official ground‐truth data, showcasing its strong performance and explanatory power of integrating multiple data sources. Moreover, the system was commended by the United Nations Development Programme stationed in Pakistan, as well as local authorities, for pinpointing hard‐hit districts and enhancing disaster response.

Core funding and the performance of international organizations: Evidence from UNDP projects

AbstractScholarship on the administration of international organizations (IOs) has extensively discussed how autonomy influences their performance. While some argue that autonomy increases performance through greater adaptability, others warn that it may increase the risk of agency slack. Authors typically distinguish between three types of performance: output, outcome, and impact performance. We focus on core funding as a key source of IO autonomy and argue that projects with more core funding show decreased output performance but an increased outcome and impact performance. Our empirical analysis relies on results from data on up to 3590 development projects run by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 128 recipient countries between 2004 and 2020. Subsequently, we test the impact of more core funding on project volumes (output performance), objectives achieved in individual projects (outcome performance), and their effects on sub‐national human development in project regions (impact performance). Our findings suggest that, although reliance on core resources is associated with lower output performance (less funding), it may result in stronger outcome and impact performance, as reflected by more objectives achieved and a higher sub‐national HDI where UNDP projects are implemented. Our findings have important implications for debates on the effectiveness of global governance.

Spatial inequality in sub-national human development index: A case study of West Bengal districts

Human Development and its regional disparity is an area of topical interest. In this paper, we consider space as an instrumental variable in understanding this disparity and explore spatial interdependence in human development across districts of West Bengal using alternate indicators of human development. This study uses both the standard United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) technique and an alternative methodology to construct a sub-national human development index. Spatial interdependence is measured using Moran's I coefficient and Local Indicators of Spatial Autocorrelation (LISA) cluster maps. Spatial regression is used to evaluate the spatial association between the Human Development Index as the dependent variable and a few independent variables. A high degree of clustering in all three dimensions of human development is observed among the southern districts of West Bengal. The pattern of cluster maps indicates the presence of both the growth pole process and the metropole-periphery process in the state. Spatial regression results indicate that the share of socially backward class population and urbanization rate are important variables affecting regional human development patterns. The findings of this study suggest policies targeted to promote social inclusion and urbanization linked with better access to economic opportunities in the lagging areas can help reduce regional imbalances.

Effect of Rural Banditry on Food Security and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria

This research investigates how rural banditry hinders sustainable food security and poverty reductions in Nigeria. The Food and Agricultural Organisation, the International Monetary Fund, the National Bureau of Statistics, the United Nations Development Programme, scholarly journals, and field surveys were the sources from which the data were gathered. Three hundred questionnaires were administered to farmers in six states via Plateau, Nassarawa, Kaduna, Benue, Oyo and Niger, in addition to a focused group discussion with selected farmers in each of the study areas. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings show that unemployment, poverty, poor governance, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient security measures and lack of effective institutional coordination, create a network of individuals who support or engage in banditry; farmers experienced disruptions in farming activities, psychological distresses and loss of livestock. Among the socio-economic impacts of banditry include: loss of income and economic opportunities, displacement and migration of the rural population, reduced productivity and infrastructural degradation. These led to food shortages, hikes in food prices, malnutrition and increased poverty level in Nigeria. This study emphasizes the urgent need by the federal and state governments to tackle the problems of unemployment and poverty; develop infrastructure; increase security expenditure; and implement targeted rural development policies. These solutions will curb rural banditry, ensure food security and reduce poverty in Nigeria. Keywords: Rural Banditry, food security, poverty reduction, food production, development policies, farmers.

Adaptation of the RESPECT framework to prevent violence against women, Indonesia.

Violence against women is a global health problem. Effectively preventing such violence requires locally adapted strategies. The World Health Organization in Indonesia, in collaboration with United Nations (UN) Population Fund, UN Women, United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Development Programme and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, launched capacity-building initiatives to introduce RESPECT as an evidence-based framework to address violence against women. The initiatives included stakeholder engagement, module development, sensitization training, a workshop and evaluation sessions. These sessions introduced RESPECT strategies to government officials, UN officers and community representatives, mapped best practices and developed action plans. Indonesia has a substantial burden of violence against women, despite numerous laws and policies to combat it. The 2021 Indonesian violence against women survey showed that 26.1% (3341/12 800) of women aged 15-64 years had experienced violence in their lifetime, with 8.7% (1114/12 800) experiencing violence in the past year. The initiatives to introduce RESPECT led to securing government support, and verbal commitment was given by the Director for the Protection of Women's Rights against Domestic Violence and Vulnerability to integrate RESPECT into the 2025-2029 National Development Plan and National Strategy for Reducing Violence Against Women. RESPECT can be adapted to local contexts through customization and capacity-building and by ensuring initial government support, dedicated personnel, resource allocation and use of established relationships with key stakeholders. Improved research, monitoring and evaluation are vital to promote evidence-informed decision-making, together with community engagement and multistakeholder collaboration. The UN can facilitate these efforts.

Health hazards from perchlorate enriched groundwater of a semi-arid river basin of south India and suggesting in-situ remediation through Managed Aquifer Recharge

The present study was conducted to assess the groundwater quality and perchlorate contents in the pre- and post-monsoon groundwater samples along with its associated health concerns with suggesting in-situ remediation in semi-arid Arjunanadi River basin of south India. Most of the samples (86 in pre-monsoon and 84 in post-monsoon out of total 94) showed secondary salinity and secondary alkalinity, and the perchlorate showed positive relations with Na+, K+, SO42-, Cl-, and NO3- contents. The main source of perchlorate could be fireworks manufacturing industries with 23 % of pre-monsoon (246.5 km2) and 33 % of post-monsoon samples (360 km2) showing perchlorate above the World Health Organization (WHO) standard (>0.07 mg/l). Perchlorate health risk assessment (PHRA) and total hazard index (THI) indicated more effect from oral pathway compared to the dermal pathway with about 80 %, 79 %, 65 %, and 60 % of samples causing health complications for infants, children, women, and men during the pre-monsoon. The post-monsoon groundwater showed increased health risks with 90 %, 82 %, 74 %, and 69 % of samples remaining hazardous for infants, children, women, and men. Artificial recharge through Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) techniques in the high-risk area could be useful to minimize the perchlorate contamination in groundwater and associated health risks under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 6 (SDGs) for a healthy society.

Unveiling Ayurveda Aahara and regulatory provisions

Food is vital for human health, providing energy, nutrients, and other essential benefits. Ensuring food safety is of the utmost importance and crucial, as highlighted by the World Health Organization, for maintaining proper nutrition. Ayurveda, the oldest living holistic healthcare system, emphasizes equally on wellness as well as therapeutic aspects by proposing its unique dietetic principles (Aahara) as a probable solution. This could also be observed since the demand for plant-based Ayurvedafood products is surging substantially. To uphold quality, safety, standards, and efficacy in Ayurvedafood products, the Ministry of Ayush and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have taken the joint initiative to include a new category, that is, Ayurveda Aahara, under the ambit FSSAI regulations in May 2022. An attempt has been made to integrate Ayurveda food-related principles with contemporary scientific understanding within the regulatory framework, which is expected to strengthen India’s global position as a custodian of Ayurveda wellness practices through dietetics, thereby contributing toward United Nations Development Programme that is Sustainable development goals related to human health and wellbeing. In this manuscript, the data were collected from various online and offline sources.

Good Governance Principles: The Process of Legal Documentation and Information Networks in Sumedang Regency

The principle of Good Governance in general is a concept that refers to the process of achieving decisions and their implementation that can be accounted for together well. As a consensus reached by the government, citizens, and the private sector for the implementation of government in a country. Examining the implementation of Good Governance to determine policies in the Sumedang Regency Legal Secretariat which is the current public service paradigm to serve the community optimally. This study aims to describe and analyze the implementation of good governance in the process of making legal products of the Sumedang Regency Regional Secretariat. In this study, the researcher used a qualitative approach to secondary data with a descriptive writing method. Implementation of the Principles of Good Governance according to the (United Nation Development Programme), 1997, the Sumedang Regency Legal Secretariat has made efforts to fulfill the principles of Good Governance by creating services that can be easily accessed via the internet network.is a system that aims to provide easy, transparent and accurate access to legal information

International agencies and the implementation of the New Urban Agenda: Evidence from the United Nations in Angola

ABSTRACT The New Urban Agenda (NUA) was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2016 and embodies the contemporary ideal of sustainable development in an urban world. While the question who can and who should bring the agenda to life has been addressed by research for various actors and governance arrangements, international agencies have mostly been confined to their function as progenitors and advocates of norms. In this paper, I take a closer look at their operational work in implementing the NUA and analyze the main policies pursued by two UN agencies in Angola, UN-Habitat and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). I argue that rather than being led by national or local actors, NUA implementation in Angola was driven by international agencies. Highlighting the potential and pitfalls of their efforts, I further show how scarce funding, discontinuities, and a strong reliance on direct collaboration circumscribed their impact on the ground.

Evolving Organizational Models: Microfranchises and the BOP 4.0 Paradigm in Post-Conflict Colombia

ABSTRACT Microfranchises (MFs), as an innovative organizational model, aim to enhance the productive capacity of the base of the pyramid (BoP) population in diverse contexts. We provide original insights into the underexplored role of MFs in the socioeconomic inclusion of victims of the conflict and former combatants in conflict settings while advancing theory-building in overlooked areas. To bridge these gaps, we use grounded theory in exploratory analysis of the total population sampling of 17 Colombian social enterprises/seven MFs financed by the United Nations Development Program and Inter-American Development Bank. Our results suggest that MFs were the most adopted organizational model in post-conflict Colombia, promoting the inclusion of victims and ex-combatants who collaboratively create contextualized solutions and prioritize community well-being, which has led to the development of a new iteration of the BoP model – BoP 4.0 - closely aligned with MFs, an innovative sustainable business typology developed. Its focus on Colombian social enterprises in post-conflict settings delimited this research. Thus, generalizing these findings beyond this context should be approached with caution. This study marks a significant contribution by revealing the pivotal role of MFs in promoting socioeconomic inclusion for victims in conflict-affected regions. Furthermore, it introduces the innovative concept of BoP 4.0, representing an evolution in sustainable business typology within the BoP framework.

Development of the National Cooling Action Plan of the Philippines

Abstract The Philippines NCAP was developed to account for the environmental impacts of energy consumption (indirect impacts) and use of high-GWP refrigerants (direct impacts) from the RAC Sector that can be mitigated by transitioning to more climate-friendly and higher-efficiency refrigerants. Utilizing the NCAP Methodology developed by the UNEP-led Cool Coalition, UN ESCAP in collaboration with Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) together with and built on the expertise of the Cool Coalition’s NCAP Working Group facilitated by The Kigali Cooling Efficiency Programme (K-CEP), the Philippines NCAP was launched by the Philippines Department of Energy – Energy Utilization and Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and United Nations Development Programme (Philippines Country Office). This paper presented the Reference Cooling Scenario (RCS) and the Sustainable Cooling Scenario (SCS) adopted from the business-as-usual (BAU) and Clean Energy Scenario (CES) of the Philippine Energy Outlook. With these assumptions on RCS and SCS, the domestic refrigeration sector will save 4.41 TWh while the residential cooling sector will save 12.15 TWh. There is a net effect in total emission reduction estimates of 10.68 MT CO2 equivalent which is close to 12 % of the unconditional target submitted to UNFCCC.

Worldwide predictors of science literacy in lower-secondary students: a TIMSS 2019 analysis

ABSTRACT In today's technologically advanced and environmentally challenging landscape, enhancing global scientific literacy is increasingly imperative. A solid grasp of scientific principles is vital for fostering innovation and achieving sustainable development worldwide. Utilizing data from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), this study inquiries into various factors impacting grade eight students' science literacy in the TIMSS 2019 assessment. Exploring student socioeconomic status, cultural background, attitudes towards science, school organisation, teacher experiences, and country-level variables, we aimed to identify predictive associations with science literacy. Additionally, we correlated TIMSS 2019 results with the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index (HDI). Employing three-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling, we assessed which student, teacher, and country-level variables were linked to grade 8 science literacy. Results indicate that the students' socioeconomic resources and motivation/confidence in science positively influence science literacy. Conversely, a higher percentage of science items covered in national curricula was weakly associated with lower science literacy scores. Teachers reporting greater teaching limitations due to student needs showed negative correlations with science scores. At the country level, the HDI emerged as the strongest correlate with grade 8 science literacy. These findings underscore the multifaceted nature of science literacy and its interplay with various socio-cultural and educational factors on a global scale.

Implications of public policies performance on social inequality worldwide

This study probes the linkage between public policy (represented by GDP growth, inflation, CO2 emissions, and unemployment factors) and social inequality indicators, paying attention to economic, environmental, and social elements. The study questions the impact of these policies on overall social inequality as one measure and its separate dimensions, which are gender, income, education, and life expectancy, whereas data was gathered between 2010 and 2021 from the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for 139 countries. The linear regression revealed a significant relationship that explained 51% of the variance in overall social inequality, except for unemployment. Regarding separate dimensions of social inequality, the findings point out that GDP growth and inflation both affect life and gender inequality, whereas unemployment only affects income inequality; on the other hand, the CO2 emissions factor has an inverse effect on all dimensions of inequality (income, life expectancy, education, and gender inequalities). Considering the implications, increased CO2 emissions would reduce income inequality by boosting job creation, but they also pose environmental and health hazards, necessitating sustainable development strategies. Rising unemployment exacerbates income distribution, demonstrating the need for policies that enhance job stability and reduce inequality. Additionally, it necessitates investing in healthcare and education, eradicating gender inequality, and implementing sustainable strategies to foster economic growth while considering the consequences of inflation on life and gender justice. Thus, realizing these principles would build a sustainable and equitable society that balances economic enhancement with environmental protection and achieves equal opportunity.

Resisting Post‐Political Adaptation to Climate Change: How a Small Community Stood Up to Big Development

AbstractRecent critical scholarship has brought attention to local resistance in the spaces of adaptation, with reported instances of local communities rejecting planned adaptation interventions around the world. As adaptation funding is only expected to grow, so should our understanding of this resistance. In this article, I investigate one such dispute where residents of a small village in São Tomé and Príncipe refused to participate in an adaptation project implemented by the national government and the United Nations Development Programme. I ground my analysis in the literature on post‐politics and discuss the community's resistance as a Rancièrian “political interruption” of the post‐political adaptation configuration in the country. I also investigate the factors that arguably led to local resistance, including the residents’ disillusion with what I term Big Development, and their political subjectivation through a local grassroots initiative. The paper concludes with reflections on countering the post‐politics of adaptation as a prerequisite for more democratic and equitable local climate governance.

Towards Sustainable Mining: Evaluating Pyrometallurgy as a Green Alternative in Gold Ore Processing

Environmental pollution by mercury in small-scale gold mining in Kulon Progo has occurred. Amalgamation has been carried out since 1997. It caused many impacts to the environment and human health. It contaminated soil and water in Kalirejo, Kulon Progo. Referring to Minamata Convention through Law Number 11 of 2017, Indonesia through Technology Assessment and Application Agency was collaborating with United Nations Development Program for the development of a pilot plant pyrometallurgy in Kulon Progo. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of pyrometallurgy methods. The research method was assessment research. This research used purposive sampling to collect data and the weighting method to process questionnaire data. Based on the research, pyrometallurgy was still not practical due to its high operational costs. On the other hand, it was environmentally friendly. The heavy metals and pH of wastewater from the scrubber of the arc furnace and roasting met the quality standards. It was possible to switch to pyrometallurgy with a society approval level of 64%..

The influence of social, demographic and economic factors on fertility trends in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: A longitudinal time trend analysis-1980-2021.

To analyze the fertility rate trends in the GCC countries and their association with socioeconomic factors so that policymakers may use the study findings for future healthcare plans. Total population, crude death rate, life expectancy, literacy rate, human development index (HDI), female employment, unemployment rate, urbanisation, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and inflation were chosen as possible predictors of TFR trends. The data were collected for the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study and other official databases such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program and Our World in Data for the 6 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Mean with standard deviation and percentage change was calculated to assess trends of TFR and all other variables from 1980-2021. The fertility rate declined in all 6 countries in 2021 compared to 1980. The highest decline was found in the United Arab Emirates (75.5%), while the lowest was in Kuwait (60.9%). From 1980-2021, total population, life expectancy, HDI, literacy rate, GDP, urbanisation, and female labor force increased in all GCC countries. The total population, life expectancy, urbanisation, female labor force, GDP and HDI were negatively and significantly correlated with TFR (p<0.01). The literacy rate showed a negative and significant correlation with TFR in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The TFR is declining in GCC countries. The plausible causes include the inclination towards postponement of marriages and excessive costs of living. These trends and associations need to be evaluated by policymakers so that they identify priority areas for interventions, allocate resources and formulate developmental plans accordingly to ensure strategic progress of the region.

Measurement and Comparison of Poverty in Abhujmadiya Tribe: Income-based and Deprivation-based Poverty Approach

The present paper is attempted to measure and compare the difference and discrepancy between the income-based and deprivation-based poverty measurement in poverty of Abhujmadiya tribes of Chhattisgarh. Two international poverty measurement approach is considered for poverty measurement of Abhujmadiya tribes, first income-based measurement developed by World Bank and second, Multidimensional Poverty Index developed by United Nation Development Program (UNDP). Research study is based on primary data of 80 household collected from 8 village of 2 block of Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh State. Results shows that 90% Abhujmadiya peoples are poor in income-based poverty whereas, 48.43% Abhujmadiya peoples are poor in deprivation-based poverty measurement. A difference of 41.57% is found in the measurement of poverty by both the poverty measurement approach and this discrepancy is more in income-based poverty as compare to multidimensional poverty measurement. The study also reveals that health facilities, year of schooling, cooking fuel, sanitation and housing conditions are the major contributor in the poverty of Abhujmadiya Tribes.