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Defining 'Human Development'

 

"In the final analysis, human security is a child who did not die, a disease that did not spread, a job that was not cut, an ethnic tension that did not explode in violence, a dissident who was not silenced. Human security is not a concern with weapons--it is a concern with human life and dignity."--Human Development Report 1994

 

"Human development...brings together the production and distribution of commodities and the expansion and use of human capabilities. It also focuses on choices--on what people should have, be, and do to be able to ensure their own livelihood. Human development is, moreover, concerned not only with basic needs satisfaction but also with human development as a participatory and dynamic process. It applies equally to less developed and highly developed countries."--Human Development Report 1990

 

"...Human development--our defining mandate--is not only about helping to ensure a decent income level and standard of living for everyone, but also about helping to ensure that every person has the capacity, right, freedom, and choice to take and be part of the decisions that affect a person's life, to select the leaders who make those decisions, and to then hold them to account."--UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan’s remarks on World Democracy Day, 2010.

 

"Human development focuses on individual and group empowerment, on human rights, structural safeguards, [and] common humanity, to live a life of freedom and dignity. They give all people moral claims on the behavior of individuals and on the design of social arrangements--and are universal, inalienable and indivisible."--Human Development Report 2000

 

 

What we are Reading

 

Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results

The 2009 Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results is a revision of the previous Handbook published in 2002. The publication is a corporate initiative to strengthen a culture of results-orientation in UNDP programming, and is different from previous versions. Recognizing the importance of integrating results management at the design stage, it includes guidance on results-based planning. By providing 'how to' on results-based planning, monitoring and evaluation, this Handbook is intended to strengthen the organization as a global partner in development.

Making the Law Work for Everyone

This Report summarizes key findings of the Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor, an independent commission co-chaired by Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto and hosted by UNDP, concerning the rule of law and the legal protection of the poor as key aspects to achieve their economic, social and political development.

Elections and Conflict Prevention: A Guide to Analysis, Planning and Programming

This guide identifies strategic approaches and forms of programming that can help to anticipate and prevent the types of violent conflict that can accompany elections and set back development in emerging democracies or post-war societies. It presents valuable lessons learned from the previous, extensive experience of UNDP and its partner organizations in the field.

Creating Value for All: Strategies for Doing Business with the Poor

This groundbreaking UNDP report showcases 50 examples of local and international companies successfully integrating the poor into their business models to create wealth, spur growth and spark social change. The report also offers tools for businesses interested in more inclusive markets.

Arab Human Development Report 2009

In Arab countries, a widespread lack of human security undermines human development, according to the Arab Human Development Report 2009: Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries. This report is prepared by independent scholars drawn from the region.

UN Ideas That Changed the World (United Nations Intellectual History Project Series)

Richard Jolly (Author), Louis Emmerij (Author), Thomas G. Weiss (Author), Kofi A. Annan (Foreword)

ISBN-10: 0253221188

The State of the World's Cities 2008/9: Harmonious Cities


UN-HABITAT (Author)

ISBN-10: 1844076962

An Insider's Guide to the UN: Second Edition

Ms. Linda Fasulo (Author)

ISBN-10: 0300141971

Three Cups Of Tea - One Man's Mission To Fight Terrorism And Build Nations One School At A Time

Greg Mortenson (Author), David Oliver Relin (Author)

ISBN-10: 0143038257

Development as Freedom

Amartya Sen (Author)

ISBN-10: 0195655265
 
UNDP by the Numbers
128 countries are receiving UNDP support for democratic governance
•
103 countries are receiving support from UNDP for anti-corruption efforts
•
60 countries are receiving UNDP election assistance
•
60 percent of municipalities in Jordan are now using a UNDP-created property tax collection system
•
1.2 million people have benefited from UNDP temporary job programs in Haiti
•
250,000 people in Armenia have benefited from water, sanitation, microfinance and other UNDP programs
•
150,000 people in Liberia received counseling and treatment for HIV & AIDS with UNDP help
•
$550 million in interest savings for Jamaica after UNDP helped negotiate with creditors
•
6 million square meters of land cleared in Cambodia with UNDP support
•
95 percent of UNDP's partners consider the organization a "critical partner" in contributing to the anti-poverty MDGs

UNDP-Led Project
Clears Debris in Haiti

For the Record

Statements from the UNDP Washington Representation Office

UNDP Welcomes Global Fund Reforms

Development Strategy Must Consider Migration

UNDP Statement on Media Reports on Afghan Police Audit

UNDP Welcomes Germany’s Renewed Funding of Global Fund Projects

UNDP Joins Global Fund in Announcing Enhanced Financial Safeguards

Setting the Record Straight - The UNDP-Global Fund relationship

UNDP in the News

Major cities tackle climate change even as Rio summit's outcome remains uncertain, Washington Post, 19 June 2012

Report Warns on Africa Jobs Growth, The Wall Street Journal, 28 May 2012

Small island states seek to end dependence on imported oil, Reuters AlertNet, 28 May 2012

Head of UN Development Program says Rio summit is about motivation, not binding agreements, Associated Press, 18 May 2012

Reinvent the future for poor on edge of disaster, South China Morning Post, 15 May 2012

UN: Asia-Pacific Region An Anchor Of Stability For World Economy, Bernama, 15 May 2012

Africa: Empower Women for Food Security, Says UN, AllAfrica, 15 May 2012

Strong growth hasn't ended Africa's food crisis, says UN, Mail & Guardian Online, 15 May 2012

Africa must end hunger to sustain growth: U.N., Reuters, 15 May 2012

UN: African growth depends on food security, Associated Press, 15 May 2012

Pacific Islands Aiming For Energy Self-Sufficiency, Voice of America, 14 May 2012

Ajay Chhibber: Asia-Pacific's triple challenge, Business Standard, 13 May 2012

Climate change means doing Asian development differently, Reuters, 11 May 2012

Asia-Pacific countries must respond to climate change: UNDP, The Hindu, 10 May 2012

Mega-cities pose climate test as consumption grows, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 May 2012

The World Is Watching: Will G20 Countries Lead This June at the Earth Summit? Huffington Post, 9 May 2012

Minor progress only in 20 years since Rio conference - Clark, ABC Radio, 2 May 2012

Ban praises Suu Kyi for her leadership, United Press International, 2 May 2012

For Pakistanis, bin Laden death anniversary sparks ... nothing, Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2012

London 2012: Olympic medals 'reflect human development', BBC, 1 May 2012

Previous Months...

 

Monitoring Crises

Pakistan Flood
Read about UN relief and recovery operations

....Flickr

Millennium Development Goals


Fast Fact

UNDP helps register 30 million people for DR Congo vote

Electoral fund of more than US$202 million has 12 donors

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNDP has helped train some 31,000 Electoral Commission and temporary staff and set up 8,163 voter registration centers ahead of the central African country’s second-ever national election, set for Nov. 28 this year
 

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