Kenya’s development progress is being slowed down by violent conflicts which have been witnessed in the Coastal region and North Eastern parts of the country, according to a new report.

The report ranks Kenya position 147 out of 187 countries worldwide in human development growth, down from 145 last year.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report; The 2014 Human Development Report “Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience” even though overall global trends in human development are positive, people at all ages are also facing threats and challenges to their wellbeing, including by natural or human-induced disasters and crises

The report indicates that most Kenyans are economically worse than they were last year, a situation that has been attributed to violent conflicts, poverty and lack of basic services like health and education which majority of Kenyans have no access to.

INCREASED LIFE EXPECTANCY

According to the report, life expectancy has improved from 51.3 years in 1996 to 61.7 years in 2013.

’’Persistent vulnerability threatens human development, and unless it is systematically tackled by policies and social norms, progress will be neither equitable nor sustainable.’’ The report reads in part.

The report indicates that more than 15 percent of the world’s people remain vulnerable to multidimensional poverty with 2.2 billion people in the world reported to be poor or near-poor.

South Asia has the largest multidimensionally poor population, with more than 800 million poor and over 270 million near-poor – that is, more than 71 percent of its population.

The 2014 Human Development Report calls for universal access to basic social services, especially health and education; stronger social protection, including unemployment insurance and pensions; and a commitment to full employment, recognizing that the value of employment extends far beyond the income it generates and also for stronger policies for social protection and full employment to advance and secure development progress.