People are the real wealth of the Nations “People are the true measure of a nation’s wealth” is the premise that guided Human Development Report (HDR) since 1990. The HDR is published yearly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), headed now by Helen Clark, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand. The HDR measures the nation’s wealth ‘not by GNP [gross national product], FDI [foreign direct investment], and ODA [official development assistance] but by “human development” – how human beings in each society live and what substantive freedoms they enjoy.
At the launch of the 20th Anniversary edition http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2010/ on November 4th 2010, the UN Secretary General acknowledged late Mahbub ul Haq, Pakistan’s Minister of Finance, a World Bank official, an adviser to UNDP, as the intellectual father of the Human Development Report. Prof. Amartya Sen, Indian Economist and Nobel Laureate, present at the event, was honoured for his groundbreaking work as collaborator with Mr. Haq. Please watch this short informative DVD http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid43942729001?bctid=659474810001
Prof. Amartya Sen reminded the participants that Millennium Declaration 2000 was focused on people centered development, drawing inspiration from the HDRs. The three new indices presented by HDR 2010 are: a) Inequality in health, education standards and the distribution of income; b) Gender Inequality in women’s participation in government and workforce…c) Multidimensional poverty identifying deprivation at household level including health, schooling and living conditions. It was declared that the HDR 2010 continues to be the source to draw inspiration to accelerate efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals as the 2015 deadline approaches.
Fatima Rodrigo
