Editing International development (section)

===Sectors===
International development and disaster relief are both often grouped into sectors, which correlate with the major themes of international development (and with the Millennium Development Goals – which are included in the descriptions below). There is no clearly defined list of sectors, but some of the more established and universally accepted sectors are further explored here. The sectors are highly interlinked, illustrating the complexity of the problems they seek to deal with.

====Water and sanitation====
{{See also|Water, sanitation and hygiene}}

In development, this is the provision of water and sanitation ([[toilet]]s, [[bathing]] facilities, a healthy environment) of sufficient quantity and quality to supply an acceptable [[standard of living]]. This is different from a relief response, where it is the provision of water and sanitation in sufficient quantity and quality to maintain life.<ref name="sphere">Sphere Project. (2004)</ref>

The provision of water and sanitation is an [[engineering]] challenge, as well as a societal and political challenge as it includes education and [[Behavior change (public health)|behaviour change]] elements and is closely connected with shelter, politics and human rights.

The seventh Millennium Development Goal was to ''ensure environmental [[sustainability]]'', including ''reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe [[drinking water]]'' and ''achieving significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million [[slum]] dwellers, by 2020''.  [[UN-Water]], a body of 26 UN agencies that work on water issues, is responsible for the triennial [[UN World Water Development Report]] which monitors progress towards the [[Millennium Development Goals]] related to water.  The World Water Assessment Programme, which produces the Report, has articulated how eight of the MDGs are linked to water resources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/facts_figures/mdgs.shtml|title=World Water Assessment Programme – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|website=www.unesco.org|access-date=29 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028110058/http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/facts_figures/mdgs.shtml|archive-date=28 October 2009}}</ref>

====Health====
{{See also|Public health|Reproductive health}}

This is provision of access to quality [[healthcare]] to the population in an efficient and consistent manner and according to their needs. The standard and level of provision that is acceptable or appropriate depends on many factors and is highly specific to country and location. For example, in a large [[city]] (whether in a 'developing' country or not), it is appropriate and often practical to provide a high standard [[hospital]] which can offer a full range of treatments; in a remote [[rural]] community it may be more appropriate and practical to provide a visiting [[healthworker]] on a periodic basis, possibly with a rural [[clinic]] serving several different communities.

The provision of access to healthcare is both an engineering challenge as it requires [[infrastructure]] such as hospitals and transport systems and an education challenge as it requires qualified healthworkers and educated consumers.

The fourth Millennium Development Goal is to ''reduce by two thirds the [[Child mortality|mortality rate]] among children under five''.

The fifth Millennium Development Goal is to ''reduce by three quarters the [[maternal death|maternal mortality ratio]]''.

The sixth Millennium Development Goal is to ''halt and begin to reverse the spread of [[HIV/AIDS]]'' and to ''halt and begin to reverse the incidence of [[malaria]] and other major [[disease]]s''.

Reaching these goals is also a management challenge. Health services need to make the best use of limited resources while providing the same quality of care to every man, woman and child everywhere. Achieving this level of services requires innovation, quality improvement and expansion of public health services and programs. The main goal is to make public health truly public.

Examples of organizations working in health are:
* [[World Health Organization]]
* [[Partners in Health]]
* [[Results for Development Institute]]
* [[Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization]]

====Education====
{{Main|Education}}

The provision of education often focuses on providing free [[Primary education|primary level education]], but also covers [[Secondary education|secondary]] and [[higher education]]. A lack of access to education is one of the primary limits on human development, and is related closely to every one of the other sectors. Almost every development project includes an aspect of education as development by its very nature requires a change in the way people live.

The second Millennium Development Goal is to ''Provide [[Universal Primary Education|universal primary education]]''.

The provision of education is itself an education challenge, as it requires qualified [[teacher]]s who must be trained in higher education institutions. However, donors are unwilling to provide support to higher education because their policies now target the MDG.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} The result is that students are not educated by qualified professionals and worse, when they graduate from primary school they are inducted into a secondary school system that is not able to accommodate them.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}

====Shelter====
The provision of appropriate shelter is concerned with providing suitable [[House|housing]] for families and communities. It is highly specific to context of [[culture]], location, [[climate]] and other factors. In development, it is concerned with providing housing of an appropriate quality and type to accommodate people in the long term. This is distinct from shelter in relief, which is concerned with providing sufficient shelter to maintain life.<ref name="sphere" />

Examples of organisations specialising in shelter are:
* [[UN-HABITAT]] (development)
* [[UNHCR]] (relief)
* [[Shelter Centre]] (relief)
* [[Architecture for Humanity]] (relief and development)
* [[Article 25]] (relief and development)
* [[ARCHIVE Global]] (development)

====Human rights====
{{Main|Human rights}}

The provision of human rights is concerned with ensuring that all people everywhere receive the rights conferred on them by [[International human rights instruments]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unhchr.ch/html/intlinst.htm|title = Unhchr.ch - unhchr Resources and Information}}</ref> There are many of these, but the most important for international development are:
* [[The Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] and its associated treaties
* The [[Convention on the Rights of the Child]]
* The [[Geneva Conventions]] (this is of more relevance to relief and military practices than development)

Human rights covers a huge range of topics. Some of those more relevant to international development projects include rights associated with [[gender equality]], [[justice]], [[employment]], [[social welfare]] and [[culture]].

The third Millennium Development Goal was to "promote gender equality and empower women" by "eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015."

Accomplishing this goal could assist in the achievement of five of the other eight Millennium Development Goals. Goals 1–6 are in direct correlation with the status of women in the communities of problem countries such as The Democratic Republic of Congo, Sub-Saharan Africa and many of the developing nations. The low social stature of a woman inhibits her abilities to truly impact her community in astonishing ways. Noting the relationship between mother and offspring, Goals 1, 4 and 5 are ones to feel the wrath of poor social status. An unhealthy mother simply cannot bear a healthy child, let alone nurse a sickly one back to health, without access to adequate nutrition. A mother characteristically takes most of the care of a child, therefore must have the resources available to not only support herself but another human as well. Without these resources, if she has not already succumbed to birthing complications, a woman cannot survive the perils of poverty and hunger and support her child simultaneously.

In a different spectrum of societal norms the Goals 2 and 6 are being threatened by an age old privilege. Historically females have been refused education in pardon of males, resulting in lesser opportunity to thrive economically. Giving women equal access to an adequate education brings the global community steps closer to achieving universal primary education. Along with this education will come proper spread of knowledge regarding safe practices in disease avoidance. Women are increasingly falling victim to HIV/AIDS for reasons easily evaded. Increasing the availability of a proper education to women will be remarkably beneficial on a variety of fronts. To promote gender equality is to promote progress towards global development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frequently asked questions about gender equality |url=https://www.unfpa.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-gender-equality |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=United Nations Population Fund |language=en}}</ref>

====Livelihoods====
{{See also|Sustainable agriculture}}

This is concerned with ensuring that all people are able to make a living for themselves and provide themselves with an adequate standard of living, without compromising their human rights and while maintaining dignity.

The first Millennium Development Goal is to ''reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day'' and ''reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from [[hunger]]''.

The concept of livelihoods is directly drawn from the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) to international development. The approach and subsequent practical framework is credited to Robert Chambers, who, writing from the mid-1980s and onward, was interested in fostering efficiency in development cooperation. The approach was later developed and utilized by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID). The approach is considered to be more comprehensive than previous theories and methodology of "conventional" development initiatives. The core concepts include: taking a holistic view, building on community and individual strengths, focusing on linking both macro and micro-level thinking, sustainability, and maintaining a dynamic and ever-evolving framework. [http://www.nccr-pakistan.org/publications_pdf/General/SLA_Gamper_Kollmair.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727113428/http://www.nccr-pakistan.org/publications_pdf/General/SLA_Gamper_Kollmair.pdf |date=2011-07-27 }}

====Finance====
{{See also|Microfinance|Right-financing}}

Several organisations and initiatives exist which are concerned with providing financial systems and frameworks which allow people to organise or purchase services, items or projects for their own development.

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to [[Muhammad Yunus]] and the [[Grameen Bank]], which he founded, for their work in providing [[microcredit]] to the poor.