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22 November 2010 Tanzania Makes Moderate Progress in Human Development The 2010 Human Development Report shows that Tanzania has made marginal improvement in human development, ranking 148th out of 169 countries in the now refined Human Development Index (HDI). "The rural-urban gap in the provision of basic necessities is a critical issue in human development in Tanzania. The inability to meet basic needs in rural areas remains high despite efforts to narrow the gaps.", said Amarakoon Bandara, UNDP Tanzania’s Economics Advisor who presented the findings at the report’s Tanzania launch. The inequality adjusted HDI takes into account inequalities in education, health and income. Inequality in human development in Tanzania is about 28 per cent, mainly due to inequalities in health. This is slightly above the global average of 22 per cent. The Human Development Report was launched in Tanzania on 16 November, introducing three new indices: the inequality adjusted Human Development Index, the Gender Inequality Index and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). The Multidimensional Poverty Index complements income-based poverty measures by showing the number of people who are multi-dimensionally poor and the deprivations that they face on the household level. It draws on 10 indicators related to health, education and basic necessities; a household is considered poor if it is deprived in more than three areas. Professor Amon Mbelle from the University of Dar es Salaam explained to the audience at the launch how the MPI is calculated. "By introducing these three new indices HDR 2010 has been able to document wide inequalities within and among countries, deep disparities between women and men on a wide range of development indicators, and the prevalence of extreme multidimensional poverty in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.", stated the UN Resident Coordinator in Tanzania, Albéric Kacou. Tanzania is one of few countries where the multidimensional poverty (65%) is lower than traditional income based poverty (89%). "This implies that policy interventions in health and education can and have somewhat off-set high levels of income poverty in the country.", explained UNDP Tanzania’s Economics Advisor Amarakoon Bandara. "In Tanzania’s case child mortality alone accounts for one-third of the country’s multidimensional poverty, as access to basic health services is limited." Strategic Use of Resources Key for Human Development "All the measures of human development are relevant to Tanzania and have profound policy implications. There should be space or sessions to discuss this report and policy work in Tanzania.", said the Guest of Honour, Permanent Secretary Mr. Ramadhan Khijjah from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. He also said that the issue of child mortality needs to be given more attention as do the challenges posed by climate change and their connection to income poverty. "It’s where you place your resources which can give you mileage and outcomes.", he concluded. In discussions during the event, the role of policy-making was further accentuated. "Economic growth is important, but the question is also how do you use the resources. Good decisions, good policies, and good use of money are needed.", stated the Ambassador of Sweden Lennarth Hjelmåker. He also stressed the importance of human rights, empowerment and gender. Rwanda’s High Commissioner Fatuma Ndangiza stressed the importance of linking to the national poverty reduction and growth strategies MKUKUTA/MKUZA whose second generation implementation is just about to start. Additional Information
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