Development comes to its own in the wake of global perils

One positive outcome from the current Covid-19-linked global health crisis is the return to the centre of world discussion of equity and its important implications. Thanks to progressive organizations, such as the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), it is possible to give international discussions on development this focus on equity and redistributive justice.

Over the decades, except at UN fora, development, correctly understood, has not received the attention it deserves from the international community. There has been a notable tendency for world discussion to focus more on growth than development and this has cost humanity very dearly. Increasing wealth inequalities within and among countries is the best proof of this distortion.

Growth, as is known, has more to do with an increase in material wealth, irrespective of how fairly it is distributed at national and international levels, but equity, which is at the heart of development, has been sidelined generally. And simply put, equity is synonymous with redistributive justice within countries and internationally. This was what the UN-initiated ‘New International Economic Order’ concept of the seventies, for example, was all about and which is today unheard of.

However, the latter concept was almost the talking point in development discourse, prior to the international glorification of market economics in the mid seventies and after. Since economic and political liberalization made it to the headlines, so to speak, with the collapse of the Cold War in the early nineties, less attention has been paid by governments, think tanks and opinion-moulders to development, defined essentially as equity or equality and its policy implications.

However, there seems to be a late rally, as it were, for development with the CHRI policy position that accessibility must be ensured for the marginalized and the poor of the world on a priority basis when it comes to distributing a Covid-19 vaccine. It is on record as having urged the Commonwealth Secretariat that manufacturers and governments must put ‘people before power, price and profit when production and distribution of the vaccine begins.’

One of the most encouraging developments for progressive sections in this connection is the fact that CHRI is firmly backing a call by India, South Africa, Kenya, Pakistan, Mozambique and others that the marginalized receive priority attention in any future vaccination distribution effort. That is, key states in the developing world are coming to the fore in the name of equity and justice in this momentous project of protecting the vital interests of the vulnerable and the powerless in the distribution of the eagerly-awaited vaccine.

Why the weak should be foremost among beneficiaries in this connection ought to be plain to see. In most countries they constitute the backbone of the economies in question by virtue of the fact that they make-up the informal sector and are main among SMEs. They are the ungarlanded economic heroes whose efforts in the upkeep of economies go unrecognised by governments and others who matter.

CHRI and other organizations that are currently taking up the cause of the weak need to be commended but the hope of progressive sections the world over is likely to be that there would be much more support from the international community for the poor and marginalized in recognition of the vital role they play in economies. Hopefully, these initial efforts at bringing relief would assume the proportions of a global movement.

The above developments should be seen as a vindication of the role played by the UN and its specialized agencies over the decades in making development and not merely growth a world wide reality. The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continue to stand as the essential benchmarks in international development. Zero poverty and increasing equity are key among these SDGs and it is plain to see that these goals could be achieved to a degree through an appreciation of the part played by the marginalized in the economic upkeep of countries, coupled with efforts to empower them and alleviate their lot.

Very rightly, the UN and other concerned sections have championed the empowerment of women over the years and if there is a section among the vulnerable which has emerged as needing continuous empowerment in the current crisis it is women. The latter are silent and unobtrusive contributors to any economy on account of their role in the upkeep of families and a fatal blow could be dealt to the material well being of the world as a result of women suffering major setbacks of any kind in the present crisis. For example, the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2020 report discloses, among other things, that women entrepreneurs across the world have suffered disproportionately in the present emergency. The latter has had the effect of setting back the fortunes of a generation of women in business. Some 87 per cent of women business owners are on record that they have been severely affected. This would translate into an overwhelming economic shock for the world, considering the largely unrecognized but crucial economic role played by women everywhere.

However, development needs to be conceived holistically. It denotes human well being and equity and much more. The UN SDGs taken together constitute development in the truest sense of the term. The 17 SDGs represent different dimensions of development that complement each other effectively. For instance, those facets of development discussed thus far could not be viewed in isolation from environmental stability and well being. Accordingly, climate change issues too must figure in any discussion on development. Consequently, the discussion on ‘greening the world’ too needs to be stepped-up and its goals effectively promoted.

Fortunately, the US, the world’s mightiest economy, would probably be on the side of the ‘greening’ camp with the coming to power of Democrat Joe Biden. He has promised to enlist the US’ support for the land mark Paris Climate Change Accord, which President Trump shelved, and this would prove crucial in the battle against global environmental destruction, provided words are translated into deeds.