National 3 (Spotlight Weekly)

Signs Of Positive Growth

Despite growing violence and political uncertainty, Nepal has achieved sound growth in the Human Development Index

By KESHAB POUDEL

"I have discussed elsewhere the remarkable fact that, in the terrible history of famines in the world, no substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a relatively free press," said Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize-winning Indian scholar.

Sen's argument is valid in the context of Nepal, where the people have seen tremendous successes in many areas including health, highways, literacy and social sectors following the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990. Although the country has seen bad forms of governance, its free press and vibrant citizenry have forced successive governments to correct policies.

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In his article "Democracy as a Universal Value", published in the Journal of Democracy in July 1999, Sen argues that political and civil rights give people the opportunity to draw attention forcefully to general needs and to demand appropriate public action. The response of a government to the acute suffering of its people often depends on the pressure that is put on it. The exercise of political rights (such as voting, criticizing, protesting, and the like) can make a real difference to the political incentives that operate on a government.

Accountability and transparency are pre-requisites for economic development and change. The United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report 2002 maintains that democratic and free countries are achieving tremendous successes in all the sectors, with the exception of a few countries.

More accountable the political leaders and political system, the larger the participation of the people in the decision-making process. Democracy does not necessarily means representation of the will of the people. In many new democracies where institutions are in the process of being built, people do not find much difference between authoritarian and democratic regimes.

In Nepal, over the last 12 years, the improvement in the health sector, particularly in the areas of family health and education, has been remarkable. Literacy jumped from 30 percent over 40 percent. According to the data of 2000 published in the HDI 2002, life expectancy at birth is 58.6 and adult literacy is 41.8, with a 0.490 Human Development Index rank.

Nepal ranks 142 out of 173 countries, In the HDR 2001, Nepal ranked 129th among 162 countries. "Nepal has moved ahead compared to last year, but Bhutan, which was right behind Nepal in 2001, has moved two place above Nepal in 2002 (HDI 0.494)," said Dr. Shankar Sharma, a member of the National Planing Commission (NPC).

Among SAARC countries, Maldives has the highest HDI, followed by Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. Although the HDI of Nepal is still quite low, it increased consistently between 1975 and 2000. The HDI 2001 and HDI 2002 show that life expectancy has increased by 0.5 years, adult literacy by 1.4 percent and GDP per capita by 90 PPP US$.

"Although the achievement is lower than expected, there is adequate room to take satisfaction," said Dr. Narayan Khadka, vice-chairman of the NPC. "We must work to bring better results."

Nepal has been making concrete efforts in the areas of gender equality, but the situation is still far from satisfactory. Nepal is among the few countries in the world where female life expectancy is lower than that of males. However, the HDR 2002 indicates a rise in female life expectancy to 58.3 years in 2000 as compared to 57.8 years in 1999. The report also shows that only four countries out of the 146 considered have lower female literacy rates than Nepal.

Likewise, significant improvements have been recorded in infant mortality rate and life expectancy at birth between 1970 and 2000.The life expectancy at birth in Nepal was 43.3 in the period of 1970-75. In 1995-2000, it increased to 57.3 years. The infant mortality per 1000 live births decreased from 165 in 1970 to 72 in 2000.

"Nepal needs to take more vigorous steps to improve the situation. As the level of awareness increases, there is a possibility of change in the pattern in the HDI," said Alessandra Tisot, UNDP Resident Representative. "Politics is as important to successful development as economics. Successful development requires a set of principles and values that allow poor people to gain power, to give political space to their voice."

Larger the participation of the people in the policymaking and day-to-day activities, better the possibilities. In the context of Nepal, it is gradually bringing change, but people have to pass through a painful process where democratic culture is yet to thrive. The HDI confirms that the more representative the government is, better are the prospects of economic and social progress. That is a lesson that should come in handy during these turbulent times.