Antigua & Barbuda has suffered a significant drop of 13 places in the United Nations 2011 indices which measure human development.
The report issued on Tuesday ranked the twin island state 60 on the Human Development Index (HDI) a significant decrease compared to the 47th position it held in 2009.
It is noteworthy however, that a new methodology has been adopted since 2010 so that HDI figures appear lower than those of previous reports.
Antigua & Barbuda was not numbered in the 2010 index due to lack of verifiable data. Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer at that time indicated that the government would be making strides to avoid a recurrence of this.
Spencer indicated that such an occurrence highlights the urgent need for the strengthening of national and regional capabilities to systematically collect, analyse and disseminate social data to inform social policy formulation.
Of the 187 nations included in the 2011 index, Barbados was the highest ranked Caribbean territory, at number 47 with Antigua & Barbuda being second.
St Lucia is ranked at 82, Trinidad & Tobago ranked 62 while Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis came in at 67 and 72 respectively.
Countries fall into four broad human development categories: very high human development, high human development, medium human development and low human development.
Antigua & Barbuda falls within the medium human development category.
The report highlighted a number of environmental challenges facing the Caribbean region and Latin America.
Despite the environmental challenges, the report notes that there is progress in natural resources conservation in some countries. It also shows that Latin America and the Caribbean are endowed with untapped renewable energy potential, most notably solar and wind power.
It also noted that several countries have been successful in combating poverty with community level programmes that provides minimum wages and guarantee social services.
The HDI measures life expectancy, literacy education and standards of living as measured by Gross Domestic Product per capita for countries worldwide.
This year’s report titled, “Sustainability and Equity: A better Future for All” focuses on the connection between development, equity and environmental sustainability.
Top scorers in the 2011 ranking are Norway, Australia and the Netherlands. The United States ranks fourth. Burundi, Niger and Congo make up the bottom three.
(Source http://www.antiguaobserver.com/?p=66832)
