Inside Story

What’s behind a global decline in human development?

UN report finds nine out of 10 countries have fallen behind on life expectancy, education and living standards.

Thirty years of continuous human progress is unravelling, according to the latest report on the United Nations Human Development Index.

It’s a measure of average life expectancies, education levels and living standards around the world.

Since it was introduced in 1990, the index has increased every year until 2020.

But the UN has now recorded two years of decline in a row.

What’s behind the change? And how can the trend be reversed?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Luis Felipe López Calva – UN Development Programme’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean

Dr Jemilah Mahmood – Professor and executive director of Planetary Health at Sunway University

Charles Businge – Middle East and North and East Africa director for Plan International