The Human Development Report 2011 (HDR 2011) was launched jointly with the Addis Ababa University, School of Economics and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of the Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa University. The launching event was attended by participants from Government offices, academia, UN agencies as well as students from the Addis Ababa University.

The event was encompassed panel discussion after the presentation made by Samuel Bwalya, Senior Economist of UNDP Ethiopia. After the presentation, discussants from the World Bank and Addis Ababa University made their remarks on the findings of the report accordingly. Following their remarks, participants raised questions, and suggestions.

Prior to the panel discussion, H.E Ato Ahmed Shide, State Minister of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, officially launched the report. In his speech, he noted that the theme of this year report is commensurate with Ethiopia’s efforts of her development to ensure that the gains to be sustainable and equitably distribute to all the society.


Mr. Eugene Owusu, Resident Representative of UNDP, remarked that “Human development reports have been published by UNDP for over 20 years now and these independent global reports have each year challenged mainstream thinking and helped to foster our understanding of development that goes merely beyond economic measurements. The Human Development Reports have been responsible for pioneering new ideas, some of them considered to be controversial at the time, but that have since become more widely accepted.”

theme of this year report is “Sustainability and Equity: a Better Future for all.” Related to this, Mr. Owusu said that “the Report helps identify pathways for people, communities, countries and the international community to promote environmental sustainability and equity in a mutually reinforcing manner. The report highlights that the links between environmental sustainability and equity are critical for people today and generations to come’ He also reiterated that according to the Report is that “.if the world in which we live today fails to reduce grave environmental risks and address deepening social inequalities, we will be facing a slowdown, following the decades of sustained progress. We may even be looking at a reversal, at the global level, of human development gains achieved so far.”


Mr. Owusu also flagged some of key messages highlighted in the Report as follows:
“ First - many disadvantaged people carry a double burden of deprivation. They are more vulnerable to the wider effects of environmental degradation, because of more severe stresses and fewer coping mechanisms. And they must also deal with threats to their immediate environment from indoor and outdoor pollution, dirty water and poor sanitation.

“Second – At national levels, power imbalances and gender inequalities are linked to reduced access to improved water and sanitation, land degradation, amongst others. This amplifies the effects associated with income disparities. Gender inequalities also worsen environmental outcomes. If we were to expand reproductive rights, health care and access to contraceptives, we would take a great leap towards redressing gender inequality, and further reduce the pressures put on our planet’s environment by slowing down global demographic growth.

“And third - investments that improve equity could advance both sustainability and human development. Stronger accountability and democratic processes, in part through support for an active civil society and media as well as empowered and independent watchdogs are all key to both sustainability and equity.”

He finally remarked that he was keen about the Report because of the important perspective it gives on Ethiopia. Mr. Owusu said that “Ethiopia’s HDI value for 2011 is 0.363, which places Ethiopia in the low human development category, and positions the country at 174 out of 187 countries ranked in the report. But the good news is that between the year 2000 and 2011, Ethiopia’s HDI registered an overall increase of some 32 percent, representing an annual average increase of about 2.6 per cent since 2000.”

Related to this, he stressed that it is “misleading to compare rankings with those of previous reports because the underlying data and methodology have changed, as well as the number of countries ranked. For example, only 169 countries were ranked in the 2010 report, compared with 187 countries in this year’s report. What is more important is the trend, which in Ethiopia’s case is positive over the past decade. When one looks at the components of the HDI, there is clear evidence that significant human development gains are being registered in this country. For example, the Report shows that between 1980 and 2011, life expectancy at birth in Ethiopia increased by 15.3 years, whilst expected years of schooling increased by 5.4 years. And from 1985 to 2011, Ethiopia’s GNI per capita increased by a whopping 92 per cent. These are all achievements to be celebrated, in spite of the country still being in the low human development category.”