Health, Human Rights and Intervention EQ1 - Human development Flashcards
What are the traditional measures of national development?
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Gross National Income (GNI)
Traditional views of development incorporated only economic progress.
What is the HPI?
Happy Planet Index - claimed to be the leading global measure of sustainable wellbeing
How does the HPI measure development?
Takes into account experienced wellbeing, life expectancy and ecological footprint.
EW x LE/EF
What are the flaws of the HPI?
2 of 3 measures are based on highly aggregated data, which are heavily subjective and could be considered biased. Only life expectancy data considered fairly reliable
What is Sharia law?
The law of Islam - which covers a wide range of topics from public behaviour to private beliefs. Considered the most intrusive and strict of legal systems in the world - but used by a variety of rich and poor countries.
What should development today focus on?
- health
- life expectancy
- human rights
What are the means of delivering goals for development?
The main way to achieve improvements in health, life expectancy and human rights is via economic growth (frequently via the exploitation of natural resources)
Who was Rosling, what goals did he see as being significant for development?
Swedish academic
Saw improvements in environmental quality, health, life expectancy and human rights as the most significant goals for development
Why is education considered by some as central to economic development?
- a literate, numerate, enterprising and skilled workforce is precious human capital (vital to move along development pathway)
- education promises a better job and higher wages, and from this flows material benefits that raise quality of life
- better informed about hygiene, nutrition and health
- improves understanding and assertion of human rights
Why do rates of education vary between countries and genders?
- conflict/danger
- lack of trained teachers
- culture/religion
- periods
- child marriage
- child labour
What obstacles impede access to education?
- gender discrimination
- social class
- wealth
- ethnicity
- physical and mental disability
What is UNESCO and what has it achieved?
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
‘Ensures that every child, boy or girl, has access to quality education as a fundamental human right and prerequisite for human development’.
Done much to raise levels of literacy around the world.
What is the HDI, what indicators does it use?
Human development index - widely used measure to show state of global development
Indicators: life expectancy, education, economic growth/income
Why is the HDI a good measure?
- relies on statistical data collected frequently and widely at a national level
- can be used to track development progress over a year or number of years
What is the gender difference in life expectancy and how does this vary across the world?
In nearly all populations, female life expectancy is greater. The difference is greater in more developed countries, but in the least developed countries, the age differential is less. This is due to high rates of maternal mortality and HIV/AIDs
What are the 3 key measures of health?
- life expectancy
- number of doctors per 100,000 people
- % of population with regular access to essential drugs
What are the variations in life expectancy across the world?
Most of world = over 65 years, with only obvious exception being Africa.
Not always clear cut that low development = low life expectancy and vice versa. Relatively high values in Asia, Middle East and South America.
What is the relationship between life expectancy and per capita income, and why?
Positive correlation.
As income diminishes, critical necessities of life (food, safe water, proper sanitation, healthcare) become less guaranteed - impacts on infant and maternal mortality
What are the reasons for variations in health and life expectancy in the developing world?
- differential access to basic needs such as food, water supply and sanitation
- impacting on levels of infant and maternal mortality
What are the reasons for variations in health and life expectancy in the developed world?
- differences in lifestyles (smoking, obesity, alcoholism)
- levels of deprivation
- cost, availability and effectiveness of healthcare services
What are the factors causing life expectancy variation in the UK?
- gender: men have a lower life expectancy than women
- job type: socioeconomic group is determined by job type – there is a 7 year difference between professional and unskilled life expectancy
- counties: England is very inequal between its counties (for example a 15 year difference for men in Manchester and London). This is due to deprivation
What are the 2 main types of healthcare services?
- countries with national health services that are ‘free’, funded by some form of taxation (e.g. NHS in England)
- countries where healthcare is largely in the private sector and paid for through insurance or an ‘as and when’ basis (USA)
What factors cause life expectancy to vary within countries?
- ethnicity
- poverty and deprivation
- lifestyle and socioeconomic group
- healthcare
- government
Why are there variations in life expectancy within Australia?
Indigenous people/Aboriginal life expectancy is around 10 years lower than non-indigenous
Due to poor quality of life for Aboriginal people, as well as poor housing, low education level, inability of politicians to address Aboriginal problems, use of illicit substances. Living in remote areas and lacking transport to get to medical centres!
