KINGSTON, March 22 (JIS):
Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Mike Henry, has hailed the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for earmarking a number of Clarendon communities for assistance.
The communities will be receiving development support to lessen the impact of climate change, increase access to water supply, improve agricultural output, and upgrade educational institutions.
“For this, I say a big thank you,” Minister Henry said, while delivering the keynote address at the launch of the 2016 Human Development Report on Tuesday (March 21) at the Wembley Centre in Hayes.
He told the gathering that the support from the UNDP will go a far way to uplift and build the communities along sustainable paths.
Meanwhile, Mr. Henry, who is also the Member of Parliament for Central Clarendon, said the Government is looking at putting a bus system in place to serve Clarendon and other rural communities.
This, he said, would ensure a safer and more reliable transport system and reduce travel costs, particularly for students.
Minister Henry further informed that the nearby Jamalco plant will be adding some 600 new jobs, through a major energy project under way.
Jamaica has been ranked in the high development category of the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) for 2016.
The report ranked the country 94 out of 188 countries.
The HDI is a merged statistic of life expectancy, education, and per-capita income indicators, which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human development – very high human development, high human development, medium human development, or low human development.
It represents an average measure of basic human development achievements in a country.
Jamaica moved from a 0.651 value in the medium development category to a 0.730 value in the high development category.
The report said Jamaica’s life expectancy at birth increased by 3.7 years, average years of schooling by 3.1 years, and expected years of schooling by 1.6 years.
CONTACT: GARFIELD L. ANGUS