Online Khabar

November 26, Kathmandu. Lack of progress in rural transformations in Least Developed Countries like Nepal is the main cause of migration within and from LDCs, the UN’s Conference Trade and Development agency has said.

In its report on LDCs, ‘Transforming Rural Economies’, the UN agency says that most migrations are taking place not because of choice, but out of necessity. This poverty-driven migration has resulted in excessive urbanization, which is problematic, the authors of the report say.

The solution to this, according to report, is to create favourable conditions so that people living in rural areas come to urban areas by choice, and not by necessity. Those favourable conditions can be created by using poverty eradication-oriented approach to transforming rural economies, suggests the report.

The report highlights the central role played by rural development in the global community’s ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

One of the SDGs’ main objectives is to end poverty in all its forms by 2030, a considerable challenge given that over two-thirds of LDCs’ populations live in rural areas where poverty is twice as common as in towns or cities. 

Nepal in LDC

The UN has set three indicators: Gross National, Income-GNI Per Capita, Human Asset Index-HAI and Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) to gauge progress made by an LDC to graduate from the group.

Status of criteria set for graduation to Developing Countries

Source Economic Survey, GoN

Nepal has already passed the threshold in GNI and HAI, but it is short by $582.5 when it comes to per capita income needed to graduate from LDC group. The government has set a target to bridge that gap by 2020. But following the earthquake and the economic blockade, there is doubt that the target will be achieved.