Poverty, Wealth & Quality of Life

What do you need for a “good life”? Close your eyes and image that you are living the good life. Pair up with a partner and answer the following questions: How would you define a “good life”? What are five things you would need for a high quality of life? (a good life) Be prepared to share!

Which needs are the most important for ……. Being healthy? Feeling happy? Feeling safe? Staying alive? Do you have all your basic needs met? Do you know of someone who doesn’t?

How do you think your definition compares… To others your age? To your parents? To you 30 years from now? To someone living in Alaska?

Definition: Quality of Life A person’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their: Goals Expectations Standards Concerns

Culture: values or traditions shared by a group Value Systems: principles of right and wrong accepted by an individual or social group Goals: something you hope to accomplish Expectations: something you anticipate doing Standards: the ideal or the basis for comparison

World Health Organization: 6 Categories of QoL Physical Health Psychological Health Level of Independence Social Relations Environment Spirituality 1) Physical Health: energy, pain, sleep, illness 2) Psychological Health: body image, memory, learning, self-esteem 3) Level of Independence: ability to work and support self, mobility, need for medicines or physical aids 4) Social Relations: friendships, romantic relationships, social supports 5) Environment: freedom safety, financial security 6) Spirituality: spirituality, religion, personal beliefs

Categorize Your Top 5 Return to your original pairs and your list Which categories of QoL do each of your Top 5 fall under? Did any of the categories get overlooked? If so, is it okay that the category was overlooked? Would you like to change your top 5 or add more items to it? Why or why not? Would you like to redefine QoL?

Think About… How are they connected? Which things on your list are free? Which things need money? When people have money coming in, we call this an income. Does everyone have an income? Do people always have the same amount of income?

Thinking Further… What else do you think improves our lives? What can we do to improve our own lives? What can we do to improve other people’s lives? How do other people work to improve their lives? What do we do in our lives that reduces the quality of life for others?

20% of the world’s population use 80% of the energy. (www.create.org.uk) 20% ENERGY IS THIS FAIR?

Can You Improve Your QoL? Why are some countries rich and some poor? Why do people in some places enjoy good water, food, housing, clothing, medical facilities, and education, while people in other places suffer without these basics for a decent quality of life? NEST, India: developing cheap, portable solar-powered lanterns to replace smoky, dangerous kerosene lamps. TWP/AHDESA, Honduras: providing stoves which save wood and reduce air pollution to rural and urban households. MRHP, Tanzania: using agricultural residues instead of wood to fire high-quality bricks for low-cost housing. SKG Sangha, India: using biogas plants to make cooking fuel and high-quality compost from cow dung. CRT/N, Nepal: improving traditional water mills so that they can grind grain more quickly, and run other equipment as well. Nigeria: KXN, Nigeria: using solar-powered vaccine refrigerators, so that vaccines can be kept cold and used effectively in remote areas. Practical Action, Peru: using micro-hydro plants to supply electricity to homes and small businesses in remote villages in the Andes. Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, Bangladesh: using solar electricity on boats to bring education and information to water-side families. IDEI, India: using cheap, human-powered treadle pumps, instead of diesel pumps, to supply water for irrigating crops.

How Can We Measure Quality of Life?

To compare quality-of-life differences among countries, you need some measures. It takes wealth to buy some of the things needed for a high quality of life, such as good food and housing.

Human Development Index The United Nations develops an index to measure the quality of life in each and every country. The Human Development Index combines indicators for three dimensions of human development into one summary measure: The Human Development Index (HDI) is a measure of human development coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme. It is a summary composite index that measures a country's average achievements in three basic aspects of human development: longevity, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. Longevity is measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge is measured by a combination of the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio; and standard of living measure by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) income. Each year a Human Development Report is produced by the United Nations. The first Human Development Index was calculated in 1990; however, data has been used to calculate HDIs back to 1975. The HDI of a country may be compared over time to measure changes in development. The Human Development Index is used to capture the attention of policy makers, media and NGOs, and to draw their attention away from the more usual economic statistics to focus instead on human outcomes. The HDI was created to re-emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth. The HDI is also used to question national policy choices — asking how two countries with the same level of income per person can end up with such different human development outcomes (HDI levels). For example, Vietnam and Pakistan have similar levels of income per person, but life expectancy and literacy differ greatly between the two countries, with Vietnam having a much higher HDI value than Pakistan. These striking contrasts immediately stimulate debate on government policies on health and education, asking why what is achieved in one country is far from the reach of another. Finally, the HDI is used to highlight wide differences within countries, between provinces or states, across gender, ethnicity, and other socioeconomic groupings. Highlighting internal disparities along these lines has raised national debate in many countries.

1. A long and healthy life … Measured by Life Expectancy at Birth An upper goal post of 85 is used giving a value of 1 and a lower of 25 giving a value of 0 Life Expectancy Index = X – 25 78-25 0.883 85-25 85-25

2. Knowledge … Measured by adult literacy rate and the combined gross enrolment for primary, secondary and tertiary schools. Adult Literacy Index = 95.8 – 0 0.958 100 – 0 Gross Enrolment Index = 69 – 0 0.690 Education Index = (2/3 x .958) + (1/3 x .690) = 0.869

3. A decent standard of living … Measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per Capita Since achieving a respectable level of human development does not require unlimited income a logarithm of income is used. Goal posts of $40,000 and 100 are used to calculate. GDP Index = log (8840) – log (100) 0.748 log (40000) – log (100)

Calculating the HDI … Once the respective indexes have been calculated it is straightforward in calculating the HDI … HDI = 1/3 (life expectancy index) + 1/3 (education index) + 1/3 (GDP index) HDI = 1/3 (0.883) + 1/3 (0.869) + 1/3 (0.748) HDI = 0.833

2014 UN Human Development Index 1. Norway 11. Ireland 2. Australia 12. Sweden 3. Switzerland 13. Iceland 4. Netherlands 14. United Kingdom 5. U.S.A. 15. Hong Kong 6. Germany 16. South Korea 7. New Zealand 17. Japan 8. Canada 18. Liechtenstein 9. Singapore 19. Israel 10. Denmark 20. France Canada (2010 – 8th; 2011 – 6th; 2012 – 11th 2013 – 11th )

2014 UN Human Development Index 187. Niger 186. Democratic Republic of Congo 185. Central African Republic 184. Chad 183. Sierra Leone 182. Eritrea 181. Burkina Faso 180. Burundi 179. Guinea 178. Mozambique

United Nations Human Development Index 2015 Most Liveable Least Liveable 1. Niger 2. Central Africa Republic 3. Eritrea 4. Chad 5. Burundi 6. Burkina Faso 7. Guinea 8. Sierra Leone 9. Mozambique 10. Mali 1. Norway 2. Australia 3. Switzerland 4. Denmark 5. Netherlands 6. Germany 7. Ireland 8. United States 9. Canada 10. New Zealand

"Poverty is the worst form of violence "Poverty is the worst form of violence.  Be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi "...are not we who tolerate...poverty, when it is within our power to reduce the number afflicted by it, failing to fulfill the fundamental obligations accepted by civilized men since the beginning of time?" "The whole of human history has recognized the principle--at least in the abstract--that the rich and the powerful have a moral obligation to assist the poor and the weak. This is what the sense of community is all about." -both quotes by Robert S. McNamara

""If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." ~ John F. Kennedy