The Federal Government says it is determined to position the country among the top 80 countries on the global Human Capital Index (HCI) by 2030. Vice President Kashim Shettima said yesterday could be achieved by enhancing the nation’s workforce capabilities and improving socioeconomic outcomes.

He said this in Uyo, where he launched the National Human Capital Development (HCD) Accelerator Project and the ARISE Human Capital Development Strategy.

The VP inspected projects, including model primary schools and the ARISE Park, an innovative environmental reclamation project.

Shettima commended the state government for becoming the first to implement the national blueprint across all local government areas, noting that successful policies must be rooted in grassroots implementation.

He said: “Every policy or programme that intervenes in the life of our people can only succeed if it’s rooted in the grassroots. “The true wealth of any nation lies in the certainty of its human capital: the education of its children, the health of its citizens, and the productivity of its workforce.”

The VP said the Federal Government has introduced a second phase of the National Human Capital Development Programme (HCD 2.0), which built on previous efforts with a greater focus on integration.

He said: “At its core, HCD 2.0 is about integration and impact. It is built on the foundation of HCD 1.0 but goes further to incorporate cross-cutting themes.

What Akwa Ibom State has shown us here isn’t just progress. It’s leadership.” He emphasised the importance of data-driven policy implementation, announcing the launch of an HCD Dashboard to monitor key indicators with precision.

Shettima said: “We are deploying data not for reports, but for results. Because behind every number is a story: a child not vaccinated, a mother lost to childbirth, a youth with promise but no pathway.”