Human capital development critical to reducing poverty – Sanwo-Olu

Improvement in health and nutrition of mother and child, targeted investment in education, and improved labour force participation, are critical to reducing multi-dimensional poverty and ensuring sustainable economic growth, Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said.

Sanwo-Olu made the assertion at the Human Capital Development (HCD) Southwest Regional Conference with the theme, ‘From plan to action’, held in Lagos, Thursday, November 24, 2022.

A recent poverty report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that 63 percent of Nigerians are suffering from multi-dimensional poverty. This means that two in every three Nigerians are poor and experience just over one-quarter of deprivation such as health, the standard of living and work which are the three thematic areas of human capital development.

The focus of the two-day HCD regional conference was to strengthen government policies and systems of the southwest region to enable greater engagement with the citizens.

Sanwo-Olu, represented by Kadri Hamzat, deputy governor and chairman, of Lagos HCD Council, said the engagement which brought top government functionaries from the six Southwest states to brainstorm, was aimed at bridging the gap between evidence and action to improve outcomes across three thematic areas of education, health & nutrition and labour force.

“Investing in human development is one of the smartest investments a country can make to break the cycle of poverty, address inequality, and boost productivity of labour. As such, we have a responsibility to organise actions that will improve socio-economic development of our nation,” he said.

According to the governor, Africa will soon be home to more than 50 percent of the world’s youth population and Nigeria holds a dominant portion of this demography, adding that there is, therefore, a need to prepare the youth to be productive members of the workforce that will contribute to the global economy.

“This will not happen if we don’t take informed decisions to tackle some challenges that are peculiar to this region through the HCD initiative. This is particularly critical in the light of the recently released Multidimensional Poverty in Nigeria (2022) Report,”

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He said the proposed Lagos State’s 2023 budget of N1.69 trillion was reflective of the region’s aspirations to promote HCD.

“Our proposed budget of 2023 exemplifies the path in which Lagos State is taking. The deliberate strategy to give priority to quality education, health, skill development and job creation, alongside infrastructure development, housing, power, security and other more traditional areas underscores our desire to accelerate progress in human capital development.”

He further encouraged the private sector and civil society to support the region’s efforts in achieving sustainable human capital development across the three thematic areas.

“Building human capital and giving everyone a chance to compete in the future must be the economic priority of our time. The collective leadership of this region will be critical to making sure that the country has the opportunity to thrive and that everyone, irrespective of city, has a chance to achieve their highest aspirations,” he said.

Soalpe Hammond, the special adviser to the governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Investment, said beyond an economic sense, emerging focus on human capital provides an additional emphasis on the prominence of structures towards nurturing dynamic, competitive, thriving, and productive society.

“In our pursuit of enabling equal opportunities in health and nutrition, education and labour force being the three national priority interventions, we need to beam our searchlight on relevant issues and most importantly situate real life expectancies in addressing some of these challenges,” she said.

Also speaking at the event, Olumide Okunola, a medical practitioner, said increased investment in child nutrition in their early years, ensuring children have quality education, increased investment in programmes that boost skills and access financing for youth and women, are some of the policies that can improve HCD in the region.