EXPERTS TO DISCUSS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ROUND TABLE, 5 MARCH

Note to Correspondents

EXPERTS TO DISCUSS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AT ECONOMIC

AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ROUND TABLE, 5 MARCH

Leading economists and experts will join together with representatives to the Economic and Social Council in a round-table discussion on human resources development, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday, 5 March, in the Council Chamber.  The round table is part of an effort to engage policy makers, academia, civil society and multilateral institutions in the preparations for the Council’s high-level segment in July, whose theme is “The contribution of human resources development, including education and health, to the process of development”

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Led by the President of Council, Ivan Šimonović (Croatia), the event will feature a keynote address, via videoconference, by Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals.  Other morning speakers will include Eduardo Doryan, Special Representative of the World Bank to the United Nations; Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs;and Shantayanan Devarajan, World Bank Chief Economist for Human Development, who will give a presentation on “Synergies between health and education and their links to economic growth and income poverty”.

Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will open the afternoon session.  Jan Vandemoortele, of the UNDP, will speak on “Maximizing the synergies and complementarities between health and education:  Focusing on the emerging evidence of the ‘education vaccine’ for HIV/AIDS”.  Iqbal Alam, of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), will speak on "Human Resources Development for Monitoring Health and Education Millennium Development Goals".  John Langmore, Director, New York Office, International Labour Organization (ILO), will address the issue of the “Impact of human resource development on employment and productivity”.  Dr. Andrew Cassels, of the World Health Organization (WHO), will also make a presentation.

Other participants will include:  Patrizio Civili, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs; Angela King, Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women; Sethuramiah L.N. Rao, UNFPA; and Margaret Kelley, Secretary of the Economic and Social Council.

Development experiences point at strong links between health and education policies and economic development.  Improvements in health and education result in gains ranging from poverty reduction to gender equality and containment of

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                                                         1 March 2002

HIV/AIDS.  For instance, evidence clearly shows that illiterate young women are more likely to contract HIV than their literate counterparts. Equally conducive to development is an enabling environment -- including effective public expenditure management, an adequate business climate, and sound human resources development.

Health investments are more efficient in the presence of a better-educated population.  Better-educated parents –- especially mothers -- make better use of health information and health-care centres.  Educated young women tend to marry later and space births better, reducing the mortality risk of the children.  As population growth slows down, school systems find it easier to absorb all children, and the quality of teaching improves.  Parents can devote more attention to their children's studies and afford more food and school supplies that improve learning.  In sum, each intervention has ramifications that go well beyond its “sector”, and adds up to a virtuous circle of social and economic development. However, the benefits do not automatically accrue to all, and markets alone do not ensure universal access – hence, the need for the public action.

Two other round tables in February focused on health and development, and education and development.  The results of the round tables will be presented to the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council, to be held from

1 to 3 July in New York.

For further information, contact Ajit Yogasundram at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, tel. (212) 963-5737, e-mail: yogasundram@un.org; or Edoardo Bellando at the Department of Public Information, tel. (212) 963 8275,   e-mail: bellando@un.org.

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