United Nations releases second report on human development in Ukraine

by Marta Dyczok

KYIV - Human development is one of the new buzz words of the United Nations. According to the recently released United Nations Ukraine Human Development Report 1996, "Human development in a Ukrainian context means putting the interests of the people first in all three aspects of the transition: state-building, democracy and economic reform."

Ukraine was the first country in the region to produce a U.N. Human Development Report due to the efforts of Stephen Browne, the head of the U.N. Mission in Ukraine. "Our purpose is not to dictate but rather illuminate certain issues and offer suggestions," said Mr. Browne at the presentation of the second UNDP report in Ukraine on June 28 in Kyiv. "We hope to have some impact on policy-makers," he continued.

The bilingual (English-Ukrainian), 102-page glossy report with 27 tables, 58 graphs and two maps was prepared by a team of Ukrainian and international experts led by Mr. Browne. It provides a unique compilation of materials on Ukraine ranging from the incidence of childhood thyroid cancer in 1986-1994 in Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine to the estimated women's average wage as a percentage of men's by industry and population, as well as housing subsidy distribution by size of families.

The report is divided into four sections: Human Development and the Triple Transition, The Economic and Social Context for Human Development, Habitat and the Human Environment, and Civil Society. In addition to factual information, the report analyzes trends in Ukrainian political, economic and social spheres and makes policy recommendations.

During the presentation, both accomplishments and problems facing Ukraine were highlighted. Halyna Freeland, one of the authors of the report, noted that although Ukraine "has demonstrated an achievement that is rare in this part of the world - namely, extremely calm ethnic politics" - since independence the role and function of women in society has changed and women are more than ever under-represented in high government circles.

Human development, according to the official U.N. definition, is the process of enlarging people's choices. The 1990 Human Development Report states that, "In principle these choices can be infinite and change over time. But at all levels of development, the three essential ones are for people to lead a long and healthy life, to acquire knowledge, and to have access to the resources needed to a decent standard of living."

The 1996 report on Ukraine notes that in the first five years of independence Ukraine has created the principal attributes of statehood and embarked on a process of economic reform, but that harsh socio-economic realities threaten the process of building a civil society. Poverty and HIV/AIDS infections are spreading rapidly, as is unemployment, and the informal economy is increasingly becoming an important source for livelihood for a significant portion of the population of Ukraine.

According to the report, Ukraine must draw upon its "social capital" - relations among people, based on cooperative behavior and shared norms of conduct and understanding, such as that exemplified by rural cooperatives - to build institutions to sustain human development.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 28, 1996, No. 30, Vol. LXIV

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