Zimbabwe, o país que andou para trás

HARARE – The quality of life in Zimbabwe has plunged to a 40-year low, according to the 2010 United Nations Human Development Report published last week.

Zimbabwe is one of three countries for which the Human Development Index (HDI) is worse off than it was in 1970.

The report, prepared by the UN Development Programme, noted that almost all the 135 countries surveyed during 2010 had recorded substantial progress in human development which is measured .

“Of 135 countries in our sample for 1970–2010, with 92 percent of the world’s people, only 3—the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe— have a lower HDI today than in 1970,” the report said.

Zimbabwe has the worst quality of life in the world, according to the report.

The HDI is a simple measure of development and captures progress in three basic capabilities – to live a long and healthy life, to be educated and knowledgeable, and to enjoy a decent standard of living.

The HDI helps answer some basic questions about the progress of societies, such as which countries have progressed faster and whether poor countries are catching up with rich ones.

Zimbabwe owes its poor score to low income and life expectancy, which
is only 47 years.

Zimbabwe has plunged from being the darling of Africa soon after
independence from Britain in 1980 to becoming a pariah state by 2000.

The southern African country was often praised for the progressive
social policies it adopted after the overthrow of minority white rule
in 1980.

Public spending on health and education rose rapidly in the 1980s,
especially for rural health centres, water, sanitation and rural
schools.

Infant mortality rates were halved between 1980 and 1993, and child
immunization rates rose from 25 percent to 80 percent.

However, the government faced challenges in sustaining expansion,
especially when the economy collapsed after 2000 because of poor
economic management.

The Zimbabwean