The InterDependent

Mourne Rouge, GRENADA -- In a far corner of the Caribbean, not too distant from the coast of Venezuela, a cluster of small island nations, most without lucrative natural resources or commodities in demand by richer countries, are on track to meet all (or in a few cases, almost all) of the Millennium Development Goals. Some have already met a number of them. By United Nations measures of human development, these island states rank with some European countries, beating global averages in life expectancy, years in school and even per capital gross national income.

The development achieved in recent decades by members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States -- Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – is matched or exceeded by other small Caribbean nations like Barbados or the Bahamas.

Based on the latest World Health Organization statistics for Barbados, for example, the country of about 255,000 people now bears the hallmarks of the global North. Forty percent of the population is urban, life expectancy is in the mid-70s, all births are attended by skilled practitioners, 100 percent of the population has safe water and sanitation, and the infant mortality rate is 11 per 1,000 births. (In the US the infant mortality hovers at 7 of every 1,000 births.)

Successful family planning programs in Barbados have led to a fertility rate – the number of births a woman is likely to have during her reproductive years – of 1.68, well below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman, the rate at which population growth stabilizes. That would indicate a growing older population, a situation prevailing in Europe and in Japan. This may bring new problems, but for now Barbados ranks on the UN human development index in the highest category of “very high human development.”

It can be argued, of course, that these are former British colonies that inherited a legacy of political and educational institutions and have since grown relatively rich on tourist dollars, though that income source has been dented by two years of global recession. But because government policies put safety nets in place, much like some of the prosperous nations of Southeast Asia --Singapore, Malaysia and, to a slightly lesser extent, Thailand and Indonesia – people have been better able to weather economic downturns.

Courtesy of Grenada Explorer

The small island nations of the Eastern Caribbean are on track to meet all (or in a few cases, almost all) of the Millennium Development Goals. The World Bank has ranked Grenada, for example, first in the region for its investment policies aimed at increasing development. Here, a carnival attracts locals and tourists.

With the glaring, tragic exception of Haiti, education levels in the Caribbean region are high, and reasonably good health care, including the universal immunization of children, is widely available though not always free.

Here in Grenada, with a population around 106,000, the expectation is that children will complete 12 years or more of education. Infant mortality, slightly higher than in Barbados, is most often related to premature births, as in the US, with its high levels of elective Caesarean deliveries and use of fertility procedures. Statistically, there is virtually no malnutrition and almost no deaths from diarrheal diseases. Smoking has been reduced. For better or worse, lifestyles echo those of the most developed nations.

This all comes together when looking at the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. In the case of Grenada, it will meet Goal 1, the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; Goal 2, universal primary education; Goal 5, improved maternal health (already met), and Goal 7, environmental sustainability. As for Goal 8, developing global partnerships for development, the World Bank recently ranked Grenada first in the region and 10th in the world for its investment policies.

Work still needs to be done, the Grenadian government acknowledges, in reducing the infant mortality rate (Goal 4) and in tackling that pervasive shadow looming over so many developing nations, the inequality of women (Goal 3). Reducing epidemic diseases (Goal 6) is not a major issue in Grenada or in much of the region, and sufficient data is not available to give Grenada a grade, government figures show.

The status of women (the key to Goal 3) is a puzzle, given that maternal mortality is low and education of girls is almost equal to that of boys. The agenda of the Grenada National Organization for Women suggests some reasons, among them domestic violence, traditional views of women’s roles and unequal employment opportunities in trades that are booming despite a recession.

The construction industry and its attendant jobs for electricians and plumbers are thriving, as spacious retirement houses for Grenadians as well as Canadians, Americans and Britons, among others, rise on the island’s picturesque hills and around its undeveloped beaches and steep-sided coves. Women have only begun to break into construction, though they dominate many of the service jobs, particularly in tourism.

An impediment, some working women say, is that many women head single-parent families and have little time or money to spare for their own training and advancement. Caribbean women, unlike many in South Asia or Africa, are not breaking stones or carrying pans of cement on their heads. Construction here is a modern industry requiring modern skills.

Still, the Caribbean region is a development model somewhat, though it is legitimate to ask whether such small countries have anything to teach larger developing nations. At first glance, it is tempting to say that development on such a small scale is easy, and that the overwhelming numbers of people in poverty and poor health found in many larger nations create problems on a hugely different scale.

Size matters, but perhaps in an unexpected way. If rural communities, cities, states and regions have enough local power – and enough committed political leaders beholden to voters – development successes are possible even in the most populous countries. India, with 1.2 billion people, is often held up as an example of this truth. An Indian state like Kerala has human development figures rivaling those of higher-income nations, while other Indian states rank with sub-Saharan Africa. Similar differences are found among cities. In Africa, model communities with good, sometimes computer-equipped schools and effective health clinics forge ahead of national averages.

In poor countries -- even if democratic -- centralized governments with incompetent political leaders and unwieldy or corrupted development programs often get in the way of human progress rather than advance it. Breaking down development into more manageable parts, with political leadership closer to the people it is supposed to serve, seems to work. The American experience with local government – school districts, town councils, elected mayors and other public officials – forms a base on which to build accountability from the bottom up. It doesn’t always go smoothly, but it does work most of the time.

In the small countries of the Caribbean, the same principle applies, with whole nations playing the role of communities. Government is close-up and personal and much more likely to be responsive to citizens needs.

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