Social Development

Every person on our earth has the right to social security. They have the right to the protection of the family, an appropriate standard of living and sufficient health care. These basic rights are not guaranteed by our moral framework alone. In December 1966, the majority of the international community of states passed the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). It has since been ratified by a total of 160 countries worldwide. Some of the rights explicitly named in the UN social pact include the right of every human being to social security, education and health care. Since the UN World Social Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, the international community has recognised that social and economic development are equally important. The Millennium Development Goals confirm this mindset.

If we are to structurally improve basic living conditions for impoverished people, we need to ensure universal access to education and health care, and equality between men and women, plus the basic tenets of human rights. The United Nations member states addressed this need for basic social security in six of the eight Millennium Development Goals passed in 2001. This is to ensure social development in all corners of the globe.

The economies of many developing and transition countries are growing. Average life expectancy is increasing, and even infant mortality is sinking. But a comparison of social indicators reveals that there is still a considerable need for development and qualifications in order to create a secure foundation for social systems. Differences between the industrialised countries on the one hand and the developing and transition countries on the other are still enormous. In Bangladesh, for example, on average 60 of every 1,000 newborns die. In Somalia the figure is 116, over ten percent. In Germany four infants do not survive, and in Scandinavian countries the rates are even lower. The number of illiterate people also differs widely. In India, with its rapidly growing economy, 38 percent of those over age 14 cannot read or write. In the emerging nations of Brazil and South Africa it is around 12 percent, while the rate of illiteracy in industrialised countries tends to fall below one percent.

Social development is therefore a priority for German development policy cooperation. Inwent supports the sustainable development of heath care and education systems in its partner countries via numerous capacity building programmes. Our programmes improve the quality of education, the management of the educational and health care sectors. They strengthen health care systems and support strategies to combat HIV/AIDS. We support social security, our contribution to the peaceful development of our partner countries. Our programmes are designed to ensure that all segments of the population have access to health services and educational opportunities.

D+C online: The human right to health 

UN Millennium Campaign 

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs  

World Development Reports