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Growing economies, tardy progress

The Human Development Report 2005 of the United Nations Development Programme draws urgent attention to the need for substantial progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, the deadline agreed upon. For large sections of the world's population, freedom from extreme poverty will remain no more than a dream if their governments do not show the political will to mobilise the resources needed for reaching the specified targets. Without immediate changes in policies to generate more international aid from developed countries, bring in pro-poor reform in trade, and ensure security in conflict-ridden societies, the MDGs will be rendered unattainable within a year. The report, presented ahead of the UN Summit to review the progress towards the MDGs, points out that aid, trade, and security are interlinked and that failure in any one area could adversely affect advances made in the other two. The report decries tied aid — assistance linked to purchase of goods and services from donor countries — and points out that some of the richest countries are still among the least generous donors. Also, the "perverse taxation" of the poor that world trade policies entail has resulted in the poorest countries being subjected to the highest tariffs by the rich. Trade will have to be not only free, but also fair and serve the specific interests of the developing countries if they are to help their people out of poverty.

Eighteen countries, with a total population of 460 million, have moved backward on the Human Development Index, a compendium of key indicators such as income, life expectancy, and education. Of these, 12 are in sub-Saharan Africa, and six from the former Soviet Union. While southern Africa was hurt by HIV/AIDS (South Africa came down 35 places in HDI, Zimbabwe 23 and Botswana 21), the economic disruption after the collapse of the Soviet Union took its toll on Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Russia. While India has moved into the "premier league" of world economic growth with the country's burgeoning segment of middle-class consumers becoming an attraction for foreign investors, this has not translated into a commensurate decline in poverty. India is ranked only 127 in HDI, though it is nine places higher in relation to GDP per capita. Improvements in child and infant mortality are slackening, and the country is off track in meeting these MDGs. Notwithstanding the technology boom in some of the southern cities, the report reveals, one in every 11 children dies before reaching the age of five for lack of low-technology, and low-cost interventions. Gender inequality is cited as a serious problem, with girls in the 1-5 age group being 50 per cent more likely to die than boys. While India is in the same league as Honduras and Vietnam in terms of income per capita, it lags far behind them in respect of neonatal mortality. The lesson the report holds for India is that economic growth will not automatically lead to an improvement in human development: inequalities based on gender and rural-urban divide must be ended.

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