Transcript Slide 1

Comparing Australia &
Developing Countries
Definitions of developed and
developing countries (WHO)
• Developed or industrialised countries are
countries that have developed economies
(including Australia, USA, UK, Sweden and
Japan)
• Developing countries are countries that have
not achieved a significant degree of
industrialisation relative to their populations.
Most developing countries are in Africa, Asia
and Latin America
Developed countries
• High material standards of living
• Good governance including well established
education and health systems
• Majority of population has access to adequate
food, housing, safe water / sanitation and
health care
• Literacy levels are high
• Long life expectancies and low under-5
mortality rates
Developing countries
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Low to medium standard of living
Low industrialisation / technology
Poor governance or unstable political situations
The majority of the population have limited
access to adequate food, housing, safe water /
sanitation and health care
• Poor participation in education and low literacy
levels
• Short life expectancy and high under-5 mortality
Definitions of sustainability and
Human Development
• Human Development is a process of enlarging
people’s choices and enhancing human
capabilities and freedoms (UN)
• The Human Development Index (HDI) lists a
country’s average achievement in three basic
areas of human development:
– Health
– Knowledge
– Decent standard of living
Sustainability
• Includes three intertwined measures leading
to human wellbeing:
– Environment
– Economy
– Society
Similarities and differences between
developing countries & Australia
Life expectancy
• The average number of years of life remaining
to a person at a specified age, is one the most
commonly used indicators of the health status
of a population.
• Australians have a high life expectancy
compared to citizens of developing countries
Mortality
• Measuring how many people have died each
year and why they have died is important for
assessing the effectiveness of a country’s
health system
• Australia has a low mortality rate when
compared to developing nations
Morbidity
• Morbidity refers to ill health in an individual
and levels of ill health in a population
• Includes: levels of illness, disease, disability
and injury
• Australia has a low morbidity level when
compared with developing nations
Global Burden of Disease (GBD)
• Using Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) we
can compare the burden of diseases that
cause early death but little disability (e.g.
measles) to that of other disease that do not
cause death but do cause disability (such as
asthma)
Human Development Index (HDI)
• A single statistic that measures a country’s
average achievement in three basic areas of
human development: health, knowledge and
a decent standard of living