Residents mill around in the depressed Railway Lane community in Montego Bay, St. James. - CLAUDINE HOUSEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
ON OCTOBER 24, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Jamaica in collaboration with the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) will launch the second National Human Development Report 2005 as well as the 2005 Global Human Development Report (HDR) that looks at the level of human development in Jamaica and the world respectively. Since 1990, the UNDP, through publications such as the HDR, has been playing a role in promoting an understanding of this 'people-centred' form of development. This article will look briefly at the concept of human development and suggest ways in which Jamaica can improve its level of human development.
UNDERSTANDING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Human development is an approach to development that seeks to enlarge people's capabilities and allow persons to lead the kind of life they choose. This implies empowering people and providing them with the tools and opportunities necessary to make choices and live fulfilling lives. Human development is a people-centred strategy, which recognises that economic variables, such as income, are but a part and a means to enlarging people's capabilities.
THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX (HDI)
The HDR report includes the Human Development Index (HDI), which is a composite indicator that measures long-term progress in human development and is used to rank countries relative to each other for a particular period. The HDI recognises that development is inherently multi-dimensional and that assessing progress towards development requires the consideration of various factors. Therefore, the HDI includes three variables: income, as a measure of living standard, longevity; as measured by life expectancy at birth and knowledge, as measured by a combination of adult literacy and primary, and secondary and tertiary enrolment rates. The basic argument for using these variables is UNDP's belief that people should be able to live long and healthy lives, be educated enough to participate in issues that affect their own development and have sufficient income to enjoy an adequate standard of living.
In the 2005 HDR, Jamaica was ranked 98 out of 177 countries based on the HDI.
RAISING THE LEVEL OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
There is a general recognition that Jamaica faces serious fiscal constraints that raise difficult public resource allocation issues. However, if the country is to raise its human development profile, it requires increased investment in strategies which give high priority to this area. While there exists no blueprint that can be applied mechanically, any effort to successfully raise the level of human development must include not only improved economic management and growth in per capita income, but also investments in 'basic' priorities like primary health care and preventative medicine, and effectively seek to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It also requires investment in education, with focus on improving the quality of learning within our schools and raising the opportunities for basic vocational training. The basis for further advancement in these areas has already been laid by significant strides in education and primary health care in Jamaica, as reflected in the National Millennium Development Goals Report published earlier this year.
Investments of this nature should be seen as contributing to human capital formation and providing the basis for tackling poverty and inequity directly, rather than relying solely on the benefits of growth to 'trickle down'.
CRIME AND VIOLENCE
Crime and violence in Jamaica remain one of the greatest obstacles to development and are both a cause and consequence of poverty and human insecurity.
Addressing its underlying causes and the weaknesses in the security and justice systems, is critical for maintaining the livelihoods and well-being of people. It is well understood that the solution to crime and violence is complex in nature and is a medium to long term process but it requires significant leadership and a deep commitment to making the fight a united, national effort.
SOCIAL EQUITY
Human development also requires the empowerment of people and the implementation of steps to deal with inequity. The extent to which Jamaica can speed up economic growth to provide additional quality employment opportunities, diversify and strengthen the rural economy, remove barriers inhibiting the formalisation of the informal sector, create greater access of small businesses to formal credit institutions and reallocate public sector resources to support human capital formation, will have significant bearing on the ability to reduce poverty and alter the distribution of income and wealth.
INVESTING IN PEOPLE
People are the real wealth of nations and there are several justifications for investing in them. Firstly, the returns on investing in people are arguably as high as, if not higher than the returns to other forms of investment. Secondly, investment in human capital in some cases economises on the use of physical capital and the exploitation of natural resources. Thirdly, the benefits of investing in people are in general more evenly spread than the benefits from other forms of investment. Therefore, a greater emphasis on human capital formation should result in as fast and perhaps even a faster pace of development, more sustainable development and a more equitable distribution of the benefits of development.
The success of the human development approach is likely to be contingent upon political support and broad-based support from the grass roots.
Consequently, it is important to promote active participation in the development process as this increases the chances that citizens will commit to making policies workable. Investing in people will ultimately result in an improvement in wealth, knowledge and longevity and will lead to an improvement in Jamaica's HDI ranking.
