Climate change makes it harder to eradicate poverty – Min. Persaud tells UN forum

Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr. Vindhya Persaud is participating in the ECOSOC High-Level Segment Ministerial Policy Dialogue on “Current trends and their impacts: Looking to the future and the realization of the SDGs”.

The Minister delivered a statement on Friday and highlighted the critical impact of climate change on the efforts to eradicate poverty (SDG 1) and achieve food security (SDG 2) due to its impact on agricultural productivity and livelihoods. She noted that Guyana is a strong partner in the fight to address climate change through continued preservation our rainforests as a critical carbon sink and through our 2030 Low Carbon Development Strategy which offers a sound balance between energy, food, and climate security.

Minister Persaud also spoke about Guyana’s accelerated economic growth and the efforts of the Government to take advantage of this to invest in infrastructure, education and healthcare, and traditional sectors, including agriculture.

Additionally, the Minister emphasised that Guyana, like most developing countries, is confronted by the trend of evolving labour markets, driven by technological advancement. She noted that while unprecedented advancement made in technology has the potential to supercharge the trajectory of sustainable development opportunities, the developing world is being left behind, stating that the digital divide must be urgently addressed.

Ministerial Persaud called upon Member States to recommit, reexamine and innovate so that we can accelerate progress on the 2030 Agenda.