“If the economy is poor, then it takes all indicators behind it”, said the Head of “For Human Sustainable Development” NGO, Karine Danielyan, in the conversation with Aravot.am, commenting the UN Development Programme (UNDP) “Human Development Index 2014″ report, in which Armenia ranks the 87 among the 87 states countries. Note that in 2013, Armenia ranked the same position. According to the UN “Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience” report, our country ranks the lowest position among the neighboring countries. Turkey ranks the 65th, Iran – 75th, Azerbaijan – 76th, and Georgia – 79th. All these four countries are included in the group of countries with high level of human development.
Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan are also included in this category, which rank the 53th, 57th and 70th places respectively. The “Human Development Index” annual report contains data on standards of living and social protection in various countries, health indicators, education and cultural development, crime, preservation of environment, and people’s participation in decision-making. In this comprehensive statistics, the countries are distributed by four general groups describing the level of human development: very high, high, low and medium.
According to Mrs. Danielyan, the main reason for Armenia’s lacking behind the countries in the region is the low level of gross domestic product (GDP). “If this index falls, then the other indexes depend on it. We have to be worried about it. If the economy is poor, then the percentage of poverty is high, eventually, the average life expectancy is also falling, because you cannot keep your healthcare to the level to able to provide normal life for the people.” As said by Karine Danielyan, one of its evidences is the recent increased level of meningitis morbidity.
To our observation that the experts claim that this virus has become active all over the world, driven by epidemiological patterns, Mrs. Danielyan said that Armenia did not have this disease for many years. “If the level of economy in the country is low, the poverty is high, and the healthcare cannot ensure the situation in full. If people are living in poverty, they see the doctor in extreme cases when the disease has already been developed. We also have problems with secondary education. If the boys since the school years are working to support the family in some way, and if children capable for higher education are unable to study, because they cannot pay for education, then the economy is not in a good shape.” According to Karine Danielyan, in Soviet times, Armenia ranked the last place even among the developed countries.
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Lusine BUDAGHYAN
