Human Development

Human Development Meanings

The concept of human development can refer to two different issues. On the one hand, it is linked to the improvement of the living conditions of the human being through the satisfaction of his needs. On the other hand, it can refer to development in the biological sense , from conception to birth or adulthood. See Abbreviation Finder for acronyms related to Human Development.

Staying with the first of the aforementioned meanings, the idea of ​​human development is associated with the availability of resources to satisfy material needs and the creation of an environment that allows the individual to exploit his or her potential. The greater human development, the better quality of life.

Working in favor of human development consists of expanding people ‘s opportunities and options to progress and increase their well-being. The various edges linked to human development are usually measured through the Human Development Index (HDI).

The HDI analyzes life expectancy, years of schooling and GDP per capita of the inhabitants of each country and establishes an international ranking. Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Germany, and Denmark tend to be the nations with the highest HDI.

In 1965, the so-called United Nations Development Program, abbreviated UNDP, was created after merging the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance and the Special Fund, which emerged in 1949 and 1958, respectively. UNDP was launched by the General Assembly and its objective is to promote improvement in the quality of life of the people who make up this system. Precisely, the report called HDI is a publication of this program.

UNDP is active in 178 countries, and its main role is to help people to achieve a higher standard of living. To promote this improvement, it provides them with the knowledge, resources and experience they need. Each country faces different challenges, and UNDP helps them create and share strategies to overcome them.

Among these challenges are the following: reduction of the poverty rate; democratic governance; crisis prevention and post-crisis recovery; use of energy and care for the environment; infectious diseases and epidemics; access to communications and information technologies; fight against illiteracy; end discrimination against women.

In order for a country to give rise to the human development of its inhabitants, it is necessary to resolve the points expressed in the previous paragraph, among others, and that is why it is a difficult task, which always leaves a percentage of people out of progress. Democratic governance is one of the most important, since it seeks through democracy to create processes and institutions that respond to the needs of the people more effectively.

If we do not have access to public administration and justice, if we cannot participate in the electoral processes and legislative decisions of our nation, then we are not fundamental components of society but mere pieces that others have to move as they please. Human development implicitly implies the idea of ​​freedom, so that each person moves around their environment as an authentic individual, even if they are part of a larger whole that represents them.

As for biology, human development begins with fertilization, when a female gamete fuses with a male gamete and a new individual arises, whose genome comes from both parents. That zygote grows in the mother’s womb as a fetus for nine months until the moment of delivery arrives. After birth, the human being continues its development until reaching maturity and becoming an adult.

Human Development