ReliefWeb » Document Preview » For crisis-hit Zimbabweans, life ends at 40: "WASHINGTON -- More than 65 percent of crisis-weary Zimbabweans do not expect to reach the age of 40, according to the United Nations.
According to the world body’s 2005 Human Development Report, 65.9 percent of Zimbabweans do not expect to survive to the age of 40 due to rising poverty and the impact of HIV and AIDS.
Average life expectancy for the southern African country, which is currently mired in an unprecedented economic and political crisis, was estimated at 36.9 years.
Only Swaziland, Botswana and Lesotho had higher rates of mortality among those below the age of 40.
According to the report, produced every year by the United Nations Development Programme to assess progress by countries in socio-economic development, more than 74.3 percent of Swazis do not expect to live beyond 40 while 69.1 percent of Batswana have a low probability of reaching 40.
More than 67.6 percent of people in Lesotho would have died by the time they reach 40.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe was among 12 Sub-Saharan African countries that experienced declines in human development between 1990 and 2003. The country dropped 23 places in human development ranking to 145th position in the world and now occupies bottom position among countries classified as medium human development areas.
Neighbours South Africa had the largest decline in the human development index (HDI) of 35 places while Botswana’s HDI ranking slipped 21 places. The two countries are now ranked 120th and 131st in the world in terms of human development, respectively.
The HDI is a barometer for movement in human well-being and tracks changes in incomes, education and health, among various human development indicators.
Other countries that suffered declines in human development were Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Swazil"
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