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The report is recommending that rich countries double their investments in poor countries to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of halving extreme poverty by 2015 and going beyond to eliminate it by 2025.
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Fact : As of now (2005 Jan), more than one billion of the world's six billion people live on less that $1 day, and 2.7 billion live on less than $2 a day.
Low-income countries need investments of $70 to $80 per head per year from 2006, rising to $120 to $160 per year in 2015, it says, adding that many middle-income countries could fund those investments themselves, given adequate debt relief and appropriate, specialized technical assistance.
(source : United Nations, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13063&Cr=millennium&Cr1=development)
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Great ! these are noble ideas and interests !! and wonder which of the s0-called rich countries are willing to donate to the cause of the poor. We had seen the struggles or I would call the "sick disaster politics" of Tsunami Aid about the contributions made by rich countries.
This is the utopian socialist dream.
I haven't read the 3000 pages in all but what bothers me is that this doesnot recognize the fact that living happily or progression of human society doesn't necessarily have to focus primarily on whether an average citizen is earning 1 or 1million a day. If that would have been the case the generations gone-by were mostly bankrupt and totally underdeveloped because probably a majority couldn't make buck a day in current monetary terms.
Development is not to be measured in monetary terms.. because the value or price of anything in this world is purely derived out of the created fictitious demand, and not necessarily its intrinsic worth.
So it is not to be assumed that a person in a so-called poor country not making a buck a day is on the lower rungs of development, as compared to that guy making a milli0n a day, because you can't measure the happiness or self-dignity or complacency etc etc., that the poor individual carries which could probably be a million times worth intrinsically than what the rich guy has.
This is because I believe there are thousand other factors that are crucial to development or the quality of life that are not in anyway direct proportional to the money or wealth, nor can be directly bought with wealth.
With my own assessment comes what practically I have seen in India, since my childhood. The cost of living or the earning potential or the average income levels has gone up probably 5-10 times if not more in the last 10 yrs, but the lack of moral values or drive towards the material wealth is degenerating the society to such levels that I cannot call that as development or progressing towards the right direction, especially when compared to what my grandfathers or fathers had.
Yes, my father earned more than my grand pa, and I earn much more that my father, but unforutnately I don't think that makes us the most happiest of all the generations, as we continue to be drawn towards artifical, material needs and forget about the basic purpose of life or why we exist?.
Jan 14, 2005
"Do we call this development?" Series 1 - Health Issues
Study Warns of Growing BP Problem
A Tulane University study warns the ratio of world's adult population with high blood pressure will rise from a quarter to a third by 2025. That means more than 1.5 billion adults will have BP problems in the next 20 years, says the study published in this week's issue of Britain's The Lancet. The prevalence of high blood pressure in various regions of the world has been previously reported but this is the first study to estimate the total worldwide figure.
The number of adults with high blood pressure was predicted to increase by about 60 percent to a total of 1.56 billion in 2025. "High blood pressure is an important health issue not only because of its high frequency but also because it is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and kidney disease," Dr. He said.
A Tulane University study warns the ratio of world's adult population with high blood pressure will rise from a quarter to a third by 2025. That means more than 1.5 billion adults will have BP problems in the next 20 years, says the study published in this week's issue of Britain's The Lancet. The prevalence of high blood pressure in various regions of the world has been previously reported but this is the first study to estimate the total worldwide figure.
The number of adults with high blood pressure was predicted to increase by about 60 percent to a total of 1.56 billion in 2025. "High blood pressure is an important health issue not only because of its high frequency but also because it is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and kidney disease," Dr. He said.
Oct 26, 2004
Human development index ... here is an interesting excerpt and select quotes from the Human Development Report 2004 published by UNDP.
"The human development index (HDI) focuses
on three measurable dimensions of human
development:
- living a long and healthy life,
- being educated and
- having a decent standard of living "
Thus it is supposedly combines measures of life expectancy, school enrolment, literacy and income to allow a broader view of a country’s development than does income alone.
And the report itself states the below ....
"Although the HDI is a useful starting point, it is important to remember that the concept of human development is much broader and more complex than any summary measure can capture, even when supplemented by other indices.
The HDI is not a comprehensive measure. It does not include important aspects of human development, notably the ability to participate in the decisions that affect one’s life and to enjoy the respect of others in the community. A person can be rich, healthy and well educated, but without this ability human development is impeded. The omission of this dimension of human development from the HDI has been highlighted since the first Human Development Reports—and drove the creation of a human freedom index in 1991 and a political freedom index in 1992. Neither measure survived past its first year, a testament to the difficulty of adequately quantifying such complex aspects of human development. "
"The human development index (HDI) focuses
on three measurable dimensions of human
development:
- living a long and healthy life,
- being educated and
- having a decent standard of living "
Thus it is supposedly combines measures of life expectancy, school enrolment, literacy and income to allow a broader view of a country’s development than does income alone.
And the report itself states the below ....
"Although the HDI is a useful starting point, it is important to remember that the concept of human development is much broader and more complex than any summary measure can capture, even when supplemented by other indices.
The HDI is not a comprehensive measure. It does not include important aspects of human development, notably the ability to participate in the decisions that affect one’s life and to enjoy the respect of others in the community. A person can be rich, healthy and well educated, but without this ability human development is impeded. The omission of this dimension of human development from the HDI has been highlighted since the first Human Development Reports—and drove the creation of a human freedom index in 1991 and a political freedom index in 1992. Neither measure survived past its first year, a testament to the difficulty of adequately quantifying such complex aspects of human development. "
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