BOTSWANA 2022 VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEW REPORT

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2021-22

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BOTSWANA 2022 VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEW REPORT

August 4, 2022

This is Botswana's second Voluntary National Review (VNR). The first was successfully launched during the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development held in July 2017. Given the importance the Government attaches to the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, the decision to conduct a second VNR was unanimously made by the National Steering Committee (NSC) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during its June 2021 session. The report is a collaborative effort of different agencies involved in the implementation of the SDGs and the government. While the Ministry of Finance (MoF) was responsible for the overall preparation of the report, it was supported by several line ministries, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), as well as the Resident Coordinator's Office (RCO). The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant and unprecedented impact on the economy and the society of Botswana at large. The restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the virus resulted in disruptions to various socio-economic activities, and impacted largely on some sectors, in particular, the tourism sector. On the other hand, the pandemic reduced the country's fiscal and external buffers, and exacerbated some of the country's existing economic and social challenges such as unemployment and income inequality. Unemployment rose from 22.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 (pre-pandemic period) to 26.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. Further, the pandemic also had a negative impact on several key areas of the SDGs, including education, gender equality with its associated Gender Based Violence (GBV), health and others.