Running head: GLOBAL HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Global Health and Human Development

Valentina Chawdhury

California State University, San Bernardino

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Global Health and Human Development

This paper delves in to global health and human development statistics found on the

United Nations Development Programme website (www.undp.org). The main areas of focus are

the top 5 and bottom 5 HDI ranked nations, life expectancy, maternal and infant mortality rate,

and the amount spent per capita on healthcare which are all compared to the statistics associated

with the United States of America (U.S.). The information discovered and discussed will answer

the question of whether there is a correlation between health spending and health outcomes. An

overall view and comparison of where the U.S. stands among other nations on these areas will be

addressed in this paper.

In terms of HDI, the United States ranks 10th place with an HDI value of 0.920, an IHDI

value of 0.796, and a GII value of 0.203. The U.S. is categorized as “very high human

development” on the world HDI map. This means that the U.S. should have high life expectancy,

high education and per capita income. The average age a newborn infant is expected to live in

the U.S. (life expectancy) as of 2013 is 78.9 years. The top 5 countries from highest to lowest

HDI rank are Norway with a life expectancy of 81.5, Australia with a life expectancy of 82.5,

Switzerland with a life expectancy of 82.6, Netherlands with a life expectancy of 81.0, and U.S.

with a life expectancy of 78.9 years. The bottom 5 countries from highest to lowest HDI ranks

are Sierra Leone with a life expectancy of 45.6, Chad with a life expectancy of 51.2, Central

African Republic with a life expectancy of 50.2, Congo with a life expectancy of 50.0, and Niger

with a life expectancy of 58.4 years. When observing the chart below between the top 5 HDI

ranked countries, the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy rate while Switzerland has the highest

life expectancy rate. Among the bottom HDI ranked nations, Sierra Leone has the lowest life

expectancy rate while Niger has the highest. Although the U.S. has a higher life expectancy rate
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than the lower HDI ranked nations, the difference is not that large considering it is a top ranked

nation.

The United States has a rate of 21 per 100,000 live births (maternal mortality rate) and a

rate of 7 per 1,000 live births (infant mortality rate). Compared to the other top 5 HDI ranked

countries the maternal and infant mortality rates are as follows: Norway has a maternal mortality

rate of 7 and an infant mortality rate of 3, Australia has a maternal mortality rate of 7 and an

infant mortality rate of 5, Switzerland has a maternal mortality rate of 8 and an infant mortality

rate of 4, Netherlands has a maternal mortality rate of 6 and an infant mortality rate of 4, The US

has a maternal mortality rate of 21 and an infant mortality rate of 7. When comparing the bottom

5 HDI ranked countries the maternal and infant mortality rates are as follows: Sierra Leone has a

maternal mortality rate of 890 and infant mortality rate of 182, Chad has a maternal mortality

rate of 1,100 and an infant mortality rate of 150, Central African Republic has a maternal

mortality rate of 890 and an infant mortality rate of 146, Congo has a maternal mortality rate of

540 and an infant mortality rate of 146, Niger has a maternal mortality rate of 590 and an infant

mortality rate of 114. Based on the chart below, the U.S. has the highest rate of maternal

mortality rates and is among one of the highest infant mortality rates. Among the lowest HDI

ranked nations Chad has the highest rate of maternal mortality and Sierra Leone has the highest
GLOBAL HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 4

rate of infant mortality. The U.S. has a much lower infant and maternal mortality rate compared

to the lower ranked nations.

The total expenditure on health (% GDP) for the U.S., per the United Nations website, is

17.9% as of 2011.When comparing this to the top 5 nations, per HDI rank, it follows: Norway

has a GDP of 9.1%, Australia has a GDP of 9.0%, Switzerland has a GDP of 10.9%, Netherlands

has a GDP of 12.0%, and the U.S. has a GDP of 17.9%. The total expenditure for the bottom 5

nations, per HDI rank, are as follows: Sierra Leone has a GDP of 18.8%, Chad has a GDP of

4.3%, Central African Republic has a GDP of 3.8%, Congo has a GDP of 8.5%, and Niger has a

GDP of 5.3%. The U.S. spends the most per capita for healthcare among the top 5 nations and

bottom 5 with Sierra Leone spending 0.9% more.

Based on the information found on the United Nations website, it can be deduced that

there is no correlation between health spending and health outcomes for the United States.
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Compared to the nations mentioned in this paper, the U.S. spends the most on healthcare apart

from Sierra Leone spending 0.9% more. However, compared to the top 5 nations based on HDI

rank, the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy, highest maternal mortality rate, and highest infant

mortality rate. Therefore, the large amounts of money being spent on health by the U.S. is not

producing the health outcomes expected so there is no correlation between health spending and

health outcomes.

Researching global health and human development statistics on the United Nations

Development Programme website brought in to light interesting information regarding where the

U.S. stands between other nations. It surprised me that the U.S. is ranked among the top 10

nations and is categorized as “very high human development,” yet has the lowest life expectancy

rate, highest maternal and infant mortality rate. Although the U.S. spends the most on healthcare,

when compared to the nations mentioned in this paper, there is no correlation found between

their health spending and health outcomes. Further research will be needed to discover why the

money inputted is not producing desired results and where that money is being spent. The data

presented in this paper portrays a fully developed nation that is not efficiently utilizing its

monetary resources on healthcare to produce desired health outcomes.

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References

United Nations Development Programme. (2013). Expenditure on health, total (% of GDP).

Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/expenditure-health-total-gdp.

United Nations Development Programme. (2017). International human development indicators.

Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries.

United Nations Development Programme. (2013). Life expectancy at birth (years). Retrieved

from http://hdr.undp.org/en/69206.

United Nations Development Programme. (2013). Maternal mortality ratio (deaths per 100,000

live births). Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/maternal-mortality-ratio-

deaths-100000-live-births.

United Nations Development Programme. (2013). Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live

births). Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/under-five-mortality-rate-1000-

live-births.