The UN Development Programme has singled out Vietnam for praise among more than 40 developing countries having made outstanding progress in human development in recent decades in its latest 2013 Human Development Report (HDR) released in Hanoi on July 3.
The global report said Vietnam’s human development index has increased by 41 percent in the past two decades. In 2012, the country ranked 127th out of 187 countries – which is in the medium category of human development.
According to the report, “economic growth alone does not automatically translate into human development progress, but pro-poor policies and significant investments in people’s capabilities—through a focus on education, nutrition and health, and employment skills—can expand access to decent work and provide for sustained progress.”
UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta highlighted the need to invest in people.
She said without investing in people, returns from global markets – or foreign direct investment – will remain limited, adding that investing in human potential is vital for Vietnam to enhance its competitiveness and to fully benefit from global economic integration.
Mehta mentioned regional and geographic disparities as obstacles toVietnam progressing to higher levels of human development.
She noted the four key areas suggested by the report to ensure continued progress in human development, including enhancing equity, enabling greater participation of citizens, confronting environmental pressures, and managing demographic change.
Entitled “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World”, this year’s HDR analyses more than 40 developing countries that have made striking human development gains in recent years.
The report attributes their achievements to strong national commitments to better public health and education services, innovative poverty eradication programmes and strategic engagement with the world economy.
According to the UN, by 2030, more than 80 percent of the world’s middle class will reside in the southern hemisphere. The Asia-Pacific region will be home to about two-thirds of the new global middle class, with billions of people becoming increasingly educated, socially engaged and internationally connected, though at significantly lower income levels than their counterparts in the middle class of the industrialised countries in the North.-VNA
The global report said Vietnam’s human development index has increased by 41 percent in the past two decades. In 2012, the country ranked 127th out of 187 countries – which is in the medium category of human development.
According to the report, “economic growth alone does not automatically translate into human development progress, but pro-poor policies and significant investments in people’s capabilities—through a focus on education, nutrition and health, and employment skills—can expand access to decent work and provide for sustained progress.”
UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta highlighted the need to invest in people.
She said without investing in people, returns from global markets – or foreign direct investment – will remain limited, adding that investing in human potential is vital for Vietnam to enhance its competitiveness and to fully benefit from global economic integration.
Mehta mentioned regional and geographic disparities as obstacles toVietnam progressing to higher levels of human development.
She noted the four key areas suggested by the report to ensure continued progress in human development, including enhancing equity, enabling greater participation of citizens, confronting environmental pressures, and managing demographic change.
Entitled “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World”, this year’s HDR analyses more than 40 developing countries that have made striking human development gains in recent years.
The report attributes their achievements to strong national commitments to better public health and education services, innovative poverty eradication programmes and strategic engagement with the world economy.
According to the UN, by 2030, more than 80 percent of the world’s middle class will reside in the southern hemisphere. The Asia-Pacific region will be home to about two-thirds of the new global middle class, with billions of people becoming increasingly educated, socially engaged and internationally connected, though at significantly lower income levels than their counterparts in the middle class of the industrialised countries in the North.-VNA
