Poor economic performance leads to decline in human development - report

Kenya's overall human development index has been declining since the early 1990s as a result of poor economic performance, falling life expectancy and inadequate access to social services, according to a report launched on Thurday.

"Since the 1990s, Kenya HDI [Human Development Index] has declined from 0.533 in 1990 to 0.520 in 2004," according to Kenya's Human Development Report, which also explores the state of industrialisation and how it impacts on human development.

The national report was released to coincide with the launch of the UN's global Human Development Report, which was unveiled on Wednesday.

The HDI values range from 0 to 1, where 1 indicates the highest attainment in human development in terms of life expectancy, access to education for all and a decent standard of life.

The global report ranks Kenya 154 out of 177 countries surveyed, putting the east African country among states with the lowest HDI.

The Kenyan document - "Linking Industrialisation with Human Development" - explores how industrial growth could support human development. It suggests ways of making industrial activity thrive and also proposes ways of reducing the negative consequences of industrialisation.

"Human Development will continue to be shaped by the industrial path that Kenya chooses," said Dorothy McCormick, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi's Institute of Developmet Studies. She is one of the authors of the report, a jont effort of the university, the Kenya office of the UN Development Programme and Kenya's Ministry of Planning.

Industrialisation led to higher incomes, while manufactured products improved the quality of life. Agriculture benefited from industrial expansion, which also resulted in improved entrepreneurial skills and opportunities for women, the report noted.

Challenges of industrialisation on the other hand included, "casualisation" of industrial workforce, resulting in loss of economic security and benefits. Occupational hazards, social disruption, child labour pollution and uneven development were the other negative consequences of industrialisation, the report added.

"The industrialisation process thus entails empowering people to access productive resources by addressing inequalities in the distribution of assets," the report said. "It also requires expanding human capabilities through education, nutrition, health care, water and sanitation, all of which are important indicators of human development," it added.