Malawi stagnate on human development Index
Over 66 percent of the country’s population should be considered poor with the Global Human Development Index (HDI) also ranking the country on position 174 out of the 187 globally ranked nations for second successive year.
The report takes a broader view on human development by assessing average long term dimensions in areas of long and healthy life, access to knowledge and decent standard of living and the country’s HDI is considered below the average of low HDI countries in the region.
UN resident coordinator Mia Seppo yesterday beamoned that despite significant resources being channeled to the vulnerable in Malawi each year, through several interventions such as Fisp, social cash transfer, Public Works and others, the lives of the people seem not to be improving.
“The lives of the vulnerable do not seem to be improving. Malawi’s ranking on the Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.414, which is below the average of 0.493 for countries in the low human development group and below the average of 0.502 for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It goes even lower when the HDI value is discounted for inequality. Malawi can, and Malawi must do better than this,” Seppo said.
She further warned that persistent vulnerability threatens human development and unless the challenges are addressed, progress will not be equitable or sustainable.
According to the report, the country’s multidimensional poverty is at 66.7 percent when dimensions of education, health and other living conditions are considered as the indicators of poverty while an additional 24.5 percent were near dimensional poverty.
Equality between men and women, the report further says, has also worsened with the country ranked 129 from 149 countries ranked.
Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe has since described the country’s continued development stagnation as a huge concern and unacceptable, coming 50 years after achieved self-rule and enjoyed peace and stability while endowed with various natural resources.
“We are doing badly. There is no question about it. Every time I read any economic report, Malawi is doing worse. The fact is, we should do better and the fact is, we can do better.
“Malawi will not be changed by someone outside Malawi. Don’t feel somebody will come from heaven to change the fact that people in the village are still drinking the kind of water I was drinking while there in 1940. We have to respect the resources we have and do better,” said Gondwe.
Key revelations of the gender Index include, death of pregnancy related causes is 660 per 100 000, adult women who reached secondary school education at 10.4 percent compared to 20.4 percent of their male counterparts.
