Global human development — a measure that combines education, health and living standards — will this year decline for the first time in at least three decades, the United Nations Development Programme warned on Wednesday, as the coronavirus upends the global economy.
Global income per person is expected to fall 4% this year, and, when adjusted for those who don’t have Internet access, the percentage of primary school-age children who are getting an education is at the lowest level since the 1980s.
The death toll from the virus has exceeded 300,000 so far. “The world has seen many crises over the past 30 years," UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said in a statement. “Each has hit human development hard but, overall, development gains