Lornshill Academy
Geography Department
Higher Revision
Global Issues – Development & Health
Global Issue
Development & Health
What is development and how is it measured?
Development is any improvement in the standard of living of people in a specific country. It is measured using development indicators. For example, the UK is considered a developed country and Ethiopia is considered a developing country.
Economic indicators measure the wealth and industrialisation of a country. An example of a common economic indicator is Gross National Product (GNP) per capita ($).
Social indicators show how a country uses its wealth to try and improve the quality of life of its people. Social indicators can measure different things like health (doctors per 100,000), diet (calories per person per day) and education (adult literacy).
Problems with development indicators
Development indicators are averages, therefore figures may disguise inequalities within a country.
For example, in Somalia the capital Mogadishu has a lower death rate than average as there is better access to hospitals and doctors there, compared to more rural areas in the country.
In the south of the country the death rate is higher than average as there is food insecurity, due to prolonged civil war and natural disasters.
The capital city of a developing country often has better development statistics than the rest of the country because the government is based there. Facilities are more likely to be provided in the capital before they can afford to be provided elsewhere.
In any developing country there are massive differences between urban and rural areas. Rural areas are far less likely to have access to clean water and sanitation, health and education facilities or to get help from international aid.
In developed countries problems also exist. In Italy, for example, there is a north/south divide between the wealthy industrialised north and the poorer rural Mezzogiornio region in the south. In the UK, there is also a north/south divide in terms of income.
Even within cities there can be big differences. In Mumbai there is a much lower life expectancy in the slums like Dahrvai than in richer areas like Colaba. This is also true of cities in developed countries. Men in Shettleston in Glasgow have a life expectancy of 64. Those in the more affluent Jordanhill area have a life expectancy of 80.
In Kuwait, huge oil revenues give a high GNP per capita. However, the money is spread unevenly and only goes to a few rich families, leaving the rest in poverty. Kuwait’s birth rate and adult literacy rate are not those expected of a rich country.
Gross Domestic Income (GDI) per capita is an average figure which can hide huge differences in wealth between cities and the countryside. This is especially true of countries such as Brazil.
Most developing countries’ censuses are poorly financed and information is often inaccurate. This means statistics cannot be fully trusted.
Many indicators from certain countries are inaccurate. Countries such as North Korea do not want information about true conditions in the country to be known.
Calories per day is an inaccurate measure as in some countries people consume only one type of food. This is not a balanced diet. This happens in Malawi which has mainly a maize based diet.
In countries such as Bangladesh Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is irrelevant as many of the people are involved in subsistence agriculture. They do not use money and mainly barter to obtain goods and services.
To make development indicators more reliable, experts use composite indicators, such as the Human Development Index (HDI). This is a combination of different indicators.
The human development index
The HDI has been used by the UN since 1990, and measures:
· wealth (income per capita / linked to purchasing power)
· health (life expectancy at birth)
· educational attainment (literacy and numbers of year in school)
These combine to give a score from 1 (best) to 0 (poor).
The UK, USA and Australia are all 0.9 and over. China, Saudi Arabia and Peru are 0.5 - 0.75. Sub-Saharan Africa and many other countries are under 0.25.
The map below shows world HDI rankings.
HDI gives a more accurate picture of a country’s situation than GNI. Countries with high GNI, such as oil rich Gulf states might not necessarily have high HDI scores, due to inequalities within these countries.
Differences in levels of development between developing countries
Physical factors
Climate
Any extreme climate will hinder development, for example, being too hot, too cold, too wet or too dry. Many African countries are situated in very hot, arid climates. This makes food production difficult.
Many of these countries, like Burkina Faso for example, are prone to drought and famine. Some of the poorest least developed countries are in the Sahel zone of Africa, like Mali and Chad.
These countries have severe climatic problems, like drought, which can hamper development. This means they are unable to produce enough food to feed their populations. Money has to be borrowed for this, instead of it being invested in development projects.
Any extreme in weather will make life difficult. It will be difficult to build houses and roads, to farm the land, to attract industry and to earn a living generally.
Mountains and steep slopes again make it difficult to farm, travel and earn a living. This is true of mountainous countries like Afghanistan.
Natural hazards
Areas likely to be hit by floods, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes or by drought tend to remain less developed.
· Mozambique has suffered serious flooding in recent years.
· The Philippines has been devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.
· Pakistan and Haiti have been affected by massive earthquakes.
· Ethiopia is currently affected by drought.
Other factors
Areas lacking in mineral resources (eg coal, diamonds, oil) and areas with poor soils or poor drainage will remain less developed. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have vast oil reserves to export.
Oil is in great demand, so can be sold for a huge profit giving them a high GDP. Factors such as war, however, can prevent a country from developing. Iraq is not reaping the benefits of its oil reserves due to conflict.
Areas that are naturally linked to endemic disease will also struggle to develop. Many countries in Africa have suffered a development setback due to Aids and malaria. Researchers have concluded that the world lost on average 1.3 years of human development progress due to the Aids pandemic between 1982 and 1992.
In some countries, the setback was particularly severe. It is estimated that Zambia's development has been held back ten years. Tanzania has been held back eight years, Rwanda seven years and the Central African Republic over six years.
Human factors
Population
High population growth will generally limit development, since resources such as food, space, and water will have to be spread more thinly. There will not be enough jobs, houses, schools or health clinics to serve the population.
Economy
There may be a low level of industrialisation with few factories and offices. Some people believe that it is commerce and industry that generate the wealth for development. Jobs in these areas tend to be well paid and provide security.
Developing countries tend to have more jobs in the primary sector, with low levels of trade and often under the influence of multinational companies. The resulting profits often go abroad and tend not to be reinvested in the country.
Many developing countries are burdened with debt repayments. They may suffer from barriers to trade, such as tariffs and quotas imposed by developed countries.
China is an Newly Industrialised Country (NIC), with rapidly developing industry. Many multinational companies are investing there. Taking advantage of a natural harbour in a strategic position. This enables trading links to many other countries to be established. Cheap labour and imported raw materials have also enabled it to develop its textile and shipbuilding industries. Singapore is a ‘tiger economy’. This means it has experienced rapid economic growth, becoming successful very quickly.
Other factors
Political systems can affect development. For instance, some countries are ruled by dictators, such as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Africa has more dictators than any other continent.
Many African countries, such as Liberia, Sudan and Somalia have been plagued by civil war and this has impeded development. Many of the civil wars in Africa have been caused by dictators, such as the conflict in Ethiopia, Sudan and DR Congo. Conflicts have a direct impact on Africa’s agricultural production.
In the 1960s, Africa could feed itself and export food. Now there is widespread food insecurity. Civil war and dictatorships also discourage foreign investment.
According to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, beginning in 1991, Algeria’s civil war has killed 100,000 and caused $20 billion in economic losses.
All of the 20 countries at the bottom of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) HDI for 2012 are ruled or have been ruled by dictators. These include countries such as Benin, Gambia and Sudan.
Sample Answer
Possible answers may include
Some countries have natural resources that they can sell to help generate money and improve their standard of living and level of development (1 mark) eg oil in Saudi Arabia/Brunei/UAE; or tropical hardwoods, copper, tin and iron ore in Brazil; or gold and diamonds in South Africa. (1 mark) Newly industrialising countries such as China, South Korea or Taiwan have been able to attract manufacturing industries by offering a large, low-cost labour pool, and so have increased their level of development. (1 mark) Government policies such as banning trade unions and so reducing the risk of strikes have also made some countries more attractive for manufacturing industries. (1 mark) The lack of strict pollution laws has also made some countries more attractive for manufacturing industries. (1 mark) Some countries have more potential for tourism than others, which earns foreign currency, creates job opportunities and helps improve that country’s level of development — for example beaches in Jamaica; coral reefs in Kenya; safari opportunities in Botswana etc. (1 mark) Widespread corruption and mismanagement have hindered the development of many developing countries — with money destined to improve living conditions of the people often being intercepted and spent elsewhere. (1 mark) Political instability and civil wars (for example in Syria and Iraq in 2014) can destroy the infrastructure needed for an adequate standard of living. (1 mark) It also stops development in the area as money is spent on weapons rather than improving the standard of living, and there are no job opportunities or ways for local people to make money. (1 mark) Many countries repeatedly suffer natural disasters which destroy infrastructure and wipe out efforts for development — for example drought in sub Saharan Africa; floods in Pakistan/Bangladesh; hurricanes in the Caribbean; earthquakes in Haiti/Iran; or tsunamis in Indonesia. (1 mark) Some countries are very mountainous which makes building and attracting investment more difficult — for example Nepal. (1 mark) Some countries have a very hot and dry climate, which can cause desertification and make it very difficult to grow crops to feed a productive population — hindering development (for example Burkina Faso). (1 mark) The geographical position of some countries on the coast makes trade withother parts of the world easier and so encourages investment and development — for example Taiwan/Malaysia. (1 mark) Alternatively some countries are landlocked which makes trade and so investment and development more difficult — for example Chad/Paraguay. (1 mark)
Malaria
Malaria is caused by a parasite (Plasmodium) that finds its way into a person’s bloodstream. It is spread by the female anopheles mosquito.
The parasite enters a person’s bloodstream when they are bitten by a mosquito. Not all mosquitoes carry the disease. Only the female anopheles mosquito spreads malaria. It bites an infected person and sucks blood containing the parasite into its stomach. The parasite then multiplies in the mosquito’s stomach. The mosquito then bites someone else and the parasite enters the new victim on the saliva of the mosquito.
Physical/Environmental Factors influencing Malaria Distribution
ü The presence of female Anopheles mosquitoes.
ü The presence of the parasite, in either the mosquitoes or human population.
ü Abundant rainfall to provide areas of still/standing water for mosquito to lay eggs. Only a tiny area of water is needed.
ü A warm, humid climate – temperatures between 16°C and 40°C for eggs to develop and hatch.
ü Vegetation nearby to provide shade for the mosquito to hide during the day and digest the blood meal from the night before.
Human Factors influencing Malaria Distribution
ü People nearby to provide reservoir of blood.
ü Houses provide shade where blood meal can be digested.
ü Poor water supply and sanitation leads to water areas where mosquito can lay eggs.
ü Irrigation systems, padi fields and reservoirs provide stagnant water for breeding.
ü Migrants moving into malarial areas - clearing land, looking for work, refugees etc. This helps the disease to spread.
Controlling the disease
The female anopheles mosquito acts as a vector for the transmission of malaria, so one method used was to spray pesticides/insecticides such as DDT in an attempt to kill the mosquitoes by destroying their nervous systems.
Breeding genetically modified sterile mosquitoes and mercenary male mosquitoes were also attempts to kill off the mosquito for good, and so stop the spreading of the disease.
Another method was to use specially designed mosquito traps, which mimic animals and humans by emitting a small amount of carbon dioxide in order to lure the mosquitoes into the trap where they are killed.
BTI bacteria can be artificially grown in coconuts and then, when the coconuts are split open and placed in a stagnant pond, the larvae eat the bacteria which destroy the larvae stomach lining, killing them.
Putting larvae-eating fish such as the muddy loach into stagnant ponds or paddi fields can also help to reduce the larvae as the fish eat the larvae.