Sustaining Human Progress

📖 The Scoop

More than 200 million people a year, most of them in developing countries, are affected by natural disasters. The number of people displaced by conflict or persecution--45 million by the end of 2012--is the highest in 18 years. Economic setbacks threaten to undermine social gains even in advanced industrialized societies. And in addition to bringing many benefits, globalization has also conveyed new vulnerabilities: Shocks in one part of the world can spread rapidly, impacting people's lives everywhere. This Report highlights the need for both promoting people's choices and protecting human development achievements. It stresses the importance of identifying and addressing persistent vulnerabilities by building resilience and enhancing people's capability to cope with shocks--financial, natural or otherwise. Although almost everyone is likely to feel vulnerable at some point in life, some individuals and groups are systematically worse off. Almost 1.5 billion people are multidimensionally poor, with overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards. And close to 800 million people are vulnerable to falling back into poverty when setbacks occur. This Report focuses on the people at greatest risk and on key underlying drivers of vulnerability. It analyses structural causes--social marginalization, position in society and insufficient public services--and pays attention to the different vulnerabilities faced at different stages of the life cycle.

Genre: Business & Economics / Development / Economic Development (fancy, right?)