Nigeria partners UN to improve human capital performance

Nigeria has intensified efforts to reverse its poor human capital performance by partnering with the United Nations on new programmes to boost education, healthcare, workforce productivity, and institutional capacity.

At a high-level meeting in New York, Special Assistant to the President on Capacity Development, Sadiq Rabiu, met with the Executive Director and United Nations Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Michelle Gylle-McDonnough, to explore fresh collaboration on training, innovation and institutional reforms.

The meeting comes amid persistent concerns over Nigeria’s poor performance in human development indicators.

In 2024, the country was ranked 161 out of 193 nations on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), reflecting slow progress despite a slight improvement from previous years.

Similarly, the World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI) placed Nigeria at 0.36 (36%), indicating that a child born in the country today will be only 36 per cent as productive as they could be with full access to quality education and healthcare.

Stakeholders say these low rankings underscore decades of underinvestment in education and health, as well as systemic challenges including insecurity, economic instability, and deep regional disparities.

According to them, these factors continue to undermine the country’s workforce potential and limit socioeconomic advancement.

The Federal government recently restated its resolve to position the nation among the top 80 countries on the global Human Capital Index (HCI) by the year 2030.

Rabiu said discussions with UNITAR focused on harnessing global expertise and technical support to strengthen the country’s workforce and public institutions.

Rabiu stressed the importance of harnessing global expertise and partnerships to accelerate development across sectors, in line with the President’s strategic priorities.

Gylle-McDonough commended Nigeria’s proactive approach to capacity building and reiterated UNITAR’s readiness to work closely with the Government of Nigeria in designing and implementing impactful programmes.

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