Health and Human Development

Human development is about creating an environment where people can develop their potential and full productive, creative lives. Fundamental to this is building human capabilities – the range of things that people can do or be in life. The most basic capabilities for human development are to lead healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living, and to be able to participate in the life of the community.

The world has made progress in human development in the past 50 years, but advancing at very different paces and achieving at different levels. Sub-Saharan Africa lag far behind other regions, with life expectancy at 48.8 years. The share of people living on less than $2 a day is still high in Africa as compared to Latin America. Their are still too many deaths from poor sanitation, malnutrition or diseases which could otherwise be prevented. In many parts of the world, 67million children have no access to schools or learning opportunities which could give them hope for a better future. How can we enable children to get the schooling they need in order to have the opportunity for a better life?

Too often health and education are often the first victims of budget cuts in times of competing priorities and funding shortfalls. There is consensus that stronger health systems are key to achieving improved health outcomes, and education is key to shaping the life chances of individuals, and the well-being of societies. The reality is, how do we go about creating a more equitable world? How do we ensure that the poor have access to health care? How will young people find work to enable them to engage and contribute in a meaningful way as citizens in a diverse societies?

To achieve economic security, poorest countries must invest in the education and training of its citizens. In the age of technology, concentrating on primary education is insufficient; vocational and on-the-job training are vital in creating a dynamic economic environment. Governments need to implement policies that encourage access, innovation, development of advance skills to meet international labour market standards and foster foreign investment in-country.

Education and jobs are drivers in helping a community achieve security, and a country achieve economic prosperity and stability. The Black Swan Foundation will focus on projects which improve health and education outcomes of communities, and projects which create economic opportunities.