Under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Basma, UNDP Human Development Ambassador, the 2003 Human Development Report, will be officially launched in Jordan in a ceremony scheduled on July 23. The annual publication issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) examines people-centered development in over 175 countries.

Other speakers will include H.E. Dr. Bassem Awadallah, Minister of Planning and Ms. Christine McNab, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative.

The theme of this years report offers a unique analysis of the world’s progress in meeting the ambitious Millennium Development Goals, arising from the Millennium Declaration that was endorsed by world leaders at the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

The eight goals -each a specific commitment to reverse the spread of poverty and disease by 2015- are backed by an action plan with 18 quantifiable targets combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women. The goals also assign clear responsibilities to rich countries to provide more aid, fairer terms of trade, and meaningful debt relief to developing countries.

One of the highlights of the report is the Human Development Index (HDI), which ranks countries every year according to three variables — life expectancy, adult literacy and per capita income. It ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 1, indicating how close a country is to achieving the highest possible human development.

Jordan’s ranking over the last years has fluctuated between a low of 99 and a high of 70, reflecting, to some extent, its vulnerability to the prevailing economic and political climate. Since 1993, however, it has been slowly climbing up the ranks with a higher HDI value, much in part to the progress it has achieved in education and health.