On the priority of the concept of human development
Human development is a process of enlarging peoples choices. In
principle, these choices can be infinite and change over time. But, at all
levels of development the three essential ones are for people to lead a long and
healthy life, to acquire knowledge and to have access to resources needed for a
decent standard of living. Human development is an ideological concept, based on
the premise that it is rightful to promote social progress. To quantify and
clarify the process of human development a new yardstick of human progress, the
Human Development Index (HDI) was formulated which, through the medium of
indicators which combine the purchasing power of countries with those of the
Health and Education sectors, thus offering a much more comprehensive measure of
development than Gross National Product (GNP) alone.
The Human Development Index (HDI) classifies different countries
with very interesting results for the introduction of programmes and policies at
local, regional, national and international levels, and particularly so far as
drug abuse is concerned. (6) As yet, the qualitative dimensions of
development, and socio-cultural variables, are perhaps not sufficiently taken
into account at the local and community levels. Whence the importance of
education which intersects all domains - from the cognitive to the affective -
and of preventive education which, based on local, municipal, community and
regional realities is, also, an element in human development. It is quite clear
that, through preventive education, the living conditions of populations can be
improved if their needs for education and health are taken into account. Without
this, other opportunities remain inaccessible.
(6) For further information, see "Human
Development Report",
1993
