8.2A - Variations in the Developing World
There are considerable variations in health and life expectancy across the developing world that are explained by differential access to basic needs, such as food, water supply and sanitation, which impact particularly on levels of infant and maternal mortality.
Health is important for human development, since poor health can have the following consequences for development:
- Childhood diseases can lead to stunting and poor cognitive development, affecting education later in life.
- Diseases such as malaria and HIV/Aids reduce the capacity to work, and therefore earning capacity.
- Family members may have to spend long periods looking after ill relatives (rather than working), because health services are poor
- Medical costs use up income that could be spend on food, education and housing.
For example, the DRC is one of the world's richest countries in terms of natural resources, however:
- most of the population lives in a state of moderate to severe food insecurity, and 40% of children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition
- the water supply for 47.6% of the population is 'unimproved' <- comes from a river, spring, or open pond <- water borne diseases are rife
- most women have their first child before the age of 20 - infant and maternal mortality rates are the world's highest
It is not entirely dependent on wealth.
Country |
Life Expectancy |
Income per Capita (US$) |
% Population Malnourished |
% with Access to Safe Water |
% with Access to Sanitation |
Cuba |
79 |
7,800 |
2 |
95 |
91 |
Ethiopia |
63 |
700 |
29 |
39 |
7 |
Nigeria |
52 |
2,200 |
8 |
67 |
33 |
- Cuba's life expectancy is the same as the USA's because Cuba invested heavily in healthcare, water supplies and sanitation, reducing disease - despite its relative poverty.
- Sanitation refers to systems for safely disposing of human waste (toilets, sewers and hand-washing facilities) all of which reduce risk of infectious diseases.
- Ethiopia has high levels of undernourishment, which increases the risk of nutrition-related diseases such as scurvy and rickets, and increases susceptibility to infectious diseases.
- Undernourishment - produced by insufficient food supply and calorie intake; a type of malnutrition; leads to stunting in children
- Low access to safe water supply and poor sanitation spread water borne diseases.
Nigeria's life expectancy is noticeably worse than Ethiopia's despite Nigeria being wealthier and having less undernourishment and better water supply and sanitation. Other factors are important, such as the high prevalence of malaria (11% of the population has been infected), poor access to doctors, and high risk of infectious diseases in the densely packed slums of megacities such as Lagos.
Country |
Infant Mortality (per 1,000 live births) |
Maternal Mortality (per 100,000 live birth) |
Cuba |
5 (now 4.0) |
39 |
Ethiopia |
51 |
353 |
Nigeria |
71 |
814 |
These tables show how poor access to healthcare, combined with poor access to sanitation, water supply and food, impact on infant and maternal mortality. The key issue is poor access to healthcare.