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ICARDA News International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012 Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG Website: www.icarda.org
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Media contact: Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
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Guest
Lecture on the Challenge of
Human Development in the Arab World |
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Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General, introduced Prof. Fergany to the audience and thanked him for accepting ICARDA's invitation to deliver his lecture. Prof. Fergany said the report was based on two human development processes — formation and utilization of human capacity. He said the first human development report tried to assess the state of development in the Arab world, but the assessment did not turn out to be rosy. However, he emphasized, “Our assessment of the scale of human development in the Arab world is that there is incomplete achievement in the relative sense of human development,” he said. The report indicates that there is still a high level of illiteracy especially among women and a high level of deprivation of education among girls. Prof. Fergany explained that there has been extensive expansion of education quantitatively but with low quality, and that quality is the essence of education. Speaking on the health aspect of the report, he noted that the understanding of health is still elusive in the region, especially for women. He referred to a survey which reported that, outside the Arab world, men tended to suffer a higher level of overweight and obesity than women, but that the reverse is the case in the Arab world. He, however, noted that there has been improvement in the reduction of infant mortality, but there is generally little improvement in positive life expectancy. He said that the poor health situation affects mostly women, who often lose a greater part of their lifetime to diseases. High unemployment rate is another development issue addressed by the report. Prof. Fergany noted that the latest estimate of unemployment in the Arab world is close to 20%, which is the highest in the world. Women and youth are affected most. He highlighted the other challenges in the region, which, he said, have had considerable impact on human welfare in the Arab world. One of them is poor economic growth. He said, over the past 20 years, growth in real per capita income in the Arab world was only second to the lowest. Prof. Fergany noted that the First Arab Human Development Report revealed three deficits: knowledge acquisition, women empowerment, and freedom and good governance. He explained the various indicators used in the assessment and the amendments made to them in the subsequent reports. He said, “The team has been attacked most in recognizing women empowerment on the same level as deficit in freedom and knowledge.” “The report ends up with a vision that, although the actual deficits in human development are extremely negative, we must have a positive vision to take each of these deficits and transform it into an asset, and that was attempted in the subsequent reports. So, in the second report, we did an extensive analysis of the deficits… and we ended up with a strategic vision for widening the knowledge society in our countries through knowledge production and dissemination in an enabling environment,” he said. He concluded the lecture by explaining the major recommendations in the report for human development in the Arab world. He said that the 4th Arab Human Development Report was in press. The lecture was well received and attracted several comments and queries from the audience. In response to one of the comments, Prof. Fergany explained, "the report is not a plan of action, the purpose of the report is to provide intellectual ammunition for a deep and extensive reform that is needed to change the situation in the Arab world.” |
About
ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org)
serves the entire developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil,
and faba bean; and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management
of water, improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants
(sheep and goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In
the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible
for the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage
legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of
the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment.