UN - VN Review Report 23

THE 2ND VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEW REPORT ON SDGS

(VNR2) – 2023 Of the State of Kuwait

Submitted to:

The General Secretariat of the Supreme Council For Planning and Development

figures

Figure 1: The Seven Pillars of “New Kuwait”

Figure 2: Progress Status of Projects During 2020-2019. Source: New Kuwait 2020-2019, retrieved from http://www.newkuwait.gov.kw/projects_r2.aspx (New Kuwait, 2020)

Figure 3: Status of SDGs Projects Implemented in 2022-2021. Source: New Kuwait 2022 – 2021, retrieved from http://www.newkuwait.gov.kw/projects_r2.aspx (New Kuwait, 2022)

Figure 4: Implementation Status of Projects, Annual Plan 1 2023-2022rst Quarter. Source: Central Statistical Bureau (October 2022). Followup report of the annual plan 2023/2022, first half (2021/4/1 - 2022/9/30). Central Statistical Bureau. (CSB, Oct 2022)

Figure 5:

Kuwait›s Historical and Forecasted Overall SDG Score with Top 5 and Bottom 5 NN Source: United Nations Resident Coordinator Office in Kuwait (2022). Forecasting Kuwait’s Sustainable Development Goals: Policy implication for the Voluntary National Review 2023 process (A Policy Brief). UNRCO. (UNRCO Kuwait, 2022)

Figure 6: Forecasting Kuwait’s Sustainable Development Goals Policy Implications for the 2023 Voluntary National Review.

Figure 7: Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development

(Source: CSB of Kuwait (2022). SDG 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. CSB of Kuwait) (CSB, SDG2022 ,7)

Figure 8:

GDP Per Capita and GDP at Current Prices between 2016 and 202. (Source: CSB of Kuwait (2022). SDG

1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere. Central Statistical Burau of Kuwait) (CSB, SDG2022 ,1)

Figure 9:

The Number of Families Benefiting from Social Assistance (Source: CSB, SDG2022 ,1)

Figure 10:

Proportion of Locally Generated Resources that the Government Allocates Directly to Poverty Reduction Programs (Social Protection Programs) in percentage of GNI (Source: CSB, SDG2022 ,1)

Figure 11:

Percentage of the population who have guaranteed rights (Comprehensive Ownership Including Land) (Source: CSB, SDG2022 ,1)

Figure 12:

Source: CSB of Kuwait (2022). SDG 2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. CSB (CSB, SDG,2 2022)

Figure 13:

Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity Among the Adult Population (≥15 Years) (CSB, SDG2022 ,2)

Figure 14:

Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity Among Adult Populations (≥15 years) (Source: CSB, SDG2022 ,2)

Figure 15:

Maternal Mortality Ratio Source: CSB of Kuwait (2022). SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. CSB of Kuwait. (CSB, SDG2022 ,3)

Figure 16

Under five-mortality rate (CSB, SDG2022 ,3)

Figure 17

Neonatal Mortality Rate (CSB, SDG2022 ,3)

Figure 18

TB Incidence Rate (CSB, SDG2022 ,3)

Figure 19

Number of People Requiring Interventions against neglected tropical diseases (CSB, SDG2022 ,3)

List of tables

Table 1: Kuwait Vision 2035’s Seven Pillars, Incorporating All Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals

Table 2: Status of SDG Goals in 2019

Table 3:

SDGs Implementation Policy and Program Components in 2020. Source: GSSCPD, 2021

Table 4:

SDGs Implementation Policy and Program Components in 2021. Source: General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (GSSCPD 2022). The Annual Development Plan 2023/2022. (GSSCPD, 2022)

Table 5:

SDGs Related Projects Implemented During -2019 2020. Source: New Kuwait, 2020

Table 6: Status of Projects Being Implemented during -2020 2021. Source: New Kuwait, 2022

Table 7:

Proportion of Population Covered by a Mobile Network, by Technology

Table 8

Population who have guaranteed rights (Comprehensive Ownership Including Land) (CSB, SDG2022 ,1)

Table 9:

Ratio of females to males - Gender Equality Index (Total basic education + higher education) [Source: CSB of Kuwait (2022). SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. CSB. (CSB, SDG,4 2022)]

Table 10: Labor Market and Employment Objectives and Policies in the Second Development Plan -2015 2020-2019 / 2016

Table 11:

List of Human Rights and ILO Conventions to which Kuwait has been a signatory

Table 12: Waste Generation per Year in Kuwait

Overview

Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state located in the northeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. Its name derived from the Arabic word Al-KUT, which means a fortress, built near the water. The country has an area of 17,820 square kilometers, and a population of 4,385,717 million as of 2022, close to 66 per cent of them are non-Kuwaiti nationals (67 per cent males and 32.9 per cent females) . By virtue of its location the country is considered a natural outlet to the northeast Arabian Peninsula and a desert geographical region. Its climate is mild, with a continental nature, which is characterized by a long, hot, dry summer, and a warm, short, at times rainy winter. Dusty winds blow during summer.

Kuwait’s oil reserve of 101.5 billion barrels and large quantities of natural gas forms the basis of a significant economic presence, in the region and globally. Oil extraction and processing account for about 40 per cent of the GDP, 95 per cent of the export earnings, and 84 per cent of the government budget . As a result, Kuwait’s living standards rank among the highest worldwide. However, any fluctuation in the global oil prices has potential to prompt the government to implement a number of mitigation measures, which can at times alter the State’s budgetary allocations and the schedule of development priorities. As to the total workforce, it amounted to 2,249,560 in 2022, made up of 16.3 per cent of Kuwaiti nationals and 83.7 per cent non-nationals. The bulk of the national labor force is engaged in the public sector with only 4.7 per cent in the private sector .

II. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2019 FIRST VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEW REPORT

Kuwait builds on a solid history of achieving international development goals and keeping sustainability at the core of its policies and strategies. The country had already achieved most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, and recorded concrete accomplishments on goals and targets relevant to poverty, hunger, education, health and water and sanitation among others. Kuwait has also directed significant efforts towards the environment and has been fully committed to regional and international partnerships.

When it comes to the SDGs, there is a meaningful story to be told in the particular case of Kuwait: a three-pronged story of an integrated vision for i) achieving national sustainable development, ii) mainstreaming national interest in sustainability, broadly in society at large, and across a range of stakehold-

ers and policy influencing quarters and actors (as it will be evidenced throughout this report), and iii) fostering national alliances and international partnerships for accelerating the pace towards 2030.

The country has been devising and implementing development plans since the 1960s while mobilizing all available resources to achieve them. At the inception of the SDGs in 2015, the government made a strategic and an all-embracing choice of integrating all 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets within the country’s Vision 2035, which had been approved one year prior to the adoption of Agenda 2030. Indeed, Vision 2035 – New Kuwait, consisting of Seven pillars, fully and structurally endorsed and integrated the SDG goals and targets, along with their indicators. For that purpose, the government developed an SDGs tracking path in each of the 7 pillars, updating the status and progress made among national government and non-government partners, across all national development policies, strategies, and activities, and along the ongoing and prospective multi-year national development plans.

Figure 1 below shows the Seven pillars of Vision 2035, and table 1 summarizes the alignment of Vision 2035’s pillars with each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.