The document summarizes a presentation on the UNDP's 2015 Human Development Report. The report's theme was "Work for Human Development" and examined how work contributes to human progress. It discussed how the Human Development Index is measured and key messages from the report, including that people are a nation's real wealth and work enhances development when policies expand opportunities and protect workers' rights and well-being. Questions were asked about democracy, the importance of rankings, and countries' rankings in human development.

1. Discussion on Human
Development Report 2015
Organized by UNDP
at
IDB Building, Agargaon, Dhaka
11 January 2016
Presentation by:
Zowadul Karim Khan
www.linkedin.com/in/zowad
18 January 2016

2. Introduction about
UNDP’s Human
Development Report
• UNDP publishes the Human Development Report since 1990 every year . This
report has got good credibility and accepted by global and national policy-
makers, researchers, development workers and similar.
• The report for 2015, Human Development Report 2015, has been published
recently. The theme for this year “Work for Human Development”.
• The lead author of this report for this year was Dr. Selim Jahan, and he himself
discussed about the report in the mentioned session. The mentioned session
was organized specifically for the DPs and most of the leading DPs participated.
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3. How Human Development is measured
Human development Index (HDI) is a composite index focusing on three basic dimensions of human
development: to lead a long healthy life measured by life expectancy at birth; the ability to acquire
knowledge measured by mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling; and the ability
to achieve a decent standard of living measured by gross national income per capita. The HDI has
an upper limit of 1.0. It is also adjusted with gender development and poverty indices
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5. This Year Theme
“Work For Human Development”
Because…
 Work enables people to earn a livelihood and be economically secure. It allows
people to fully participate in society.
 Work contributes to the public builds cohesion and bonds within families and
communities. Work also strengthens societies. Human beings working together
not only increase material well-being, they also accumulate a wide body of
knowledge that is the basis for cultures and civilizations.
 Work unleashes human potential, human creativity and the human spirit.
 The Report recommended that Work can enhance human development when
policies expand productive, remunerative and satisfying work opportunities,
enhance workers’ skills and potential and ensure their rights and well-being.
 The Report recommended for “An Action Agenda based on a New Social Contract,
a Global Deal and the Decent Work”.
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6. What is Work
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8. What is decent work
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9. Key messages of HDR 2015
• People are the real wealth of nations
• Work, not just jobs, contributes to human progress and enhances human development
• Work can enhance human development, but some work damages it – the link between two is not
automatic
• Globalization and the technological revolution are fast changing how we work and what we do
• Globalizing has generated gains for some and losses for others
• Seizing the future in the digital revolution is not chance or fate – it is a matter of skill and foresight
• Women bear an unequal share of care work
• Enhancing human development through work need concrete policies and an agenda for action
• Creating work opportunities requires well formulated employment plans as well as strategies to
seize opportunities in the changing world of work
• Strategies for ensuring worker well-being must focus on rights, benefits, social protection and
inequalities
• Targeted actions are needed for balancing care and paid work, making work sustainable, addressing
youth unemployment, encouraging creative and voluntary work and providing work in conflict and
post-conflict situations
• Beyond the policy options, a broader agenda for action is needed.
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10. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Office
Dhaka, Bangladesh
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12. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Office
Dhaka, Bangladesh
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16. Q&A with the Author
• Should the issues of Democracy and Human Right be ignored?
Answer – “Democracy has both economic and intrinsic values, even the intrinsic
values are more important often (democracy makes life better, everybody likes it
etc.), but in the HDR the economic values are more focused upon…”
• Ranking given in HDR. Is ranking important (my question)?
Answer – “No. Actual/ absolute human development is important. And that is also
happening. In 1999 HDI of Bangladesh was around 0.35 and now it is 0.57.
Tremendous development has been achieved.”
• There were other miscellaneous discussions regarding safety net, market options,
emerging jobs etc.

17. Ranking of this year as per HDI
A total of 182 countries have been assessed, their Human Development Index
(HDI) has been calculated(on a scale up to 1.0), and they have been ranked and
grouped in 5 groups: (1) Very High Human Development (HDI>0.8), (2) High
Human Development (0.8>0.7), (3) Medium Human Development (0.7>0.55) (3)
Low Human Development (<0.55).
Global South Asia
Rank Country (HDI) Rank Country (HDI) Rank Country (HDI)
1. Norway (0.944) 73. Sri Lanka (0.757) 142. Bangladesh (0.570)
2. Australia (0.935) … … … …
3. Switzerland (0.930) 104. Maldives (0.706) 145. Nepal (0.548)
… … … … … …
… … 130. India (0.609) 147. Pakistan (0.538)
186. Eritrea (0.391) … … 148. Myanmar (0.536)
187. CAR (0.350) 132. Bhutan (0.605) … …
188. Niger (0.348) … … 171. Afghanistan (0.465)
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18. Conclusion
It is nice that UNDP publishes every year this report. In addition to Global,
they also publish regional and national reports. However, the implication
and use of this report are weak. Because same countries in same way
remain in low development bracket always. Though a lot of development
has been achieved since 1990, the year of initiation of this report, significant
more actions are to be taken.
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