Economic Transformation Strategy

48 48 CHAPTER 2 / BROAD STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT PILLAR 2: PEOPLE AT THE CENTRE OF DEVELOPMENT The quality of human capital is critical for the development of the country as well as for sustainable global develop- ment. Considered as an asset, human capital represents a measure of the economic value provided by the stock of knowledge, skills, and abilities within a country. Thus, the process of human capital development requires investing in skilled, healthy and productive citizens to promote a prosperous and inclusive economy. Recently, Seychelles has been ranked as the top country in the African region based on the Human Development Index (HDI) 2016 of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This can be attributed to the country's strong health indicators such as free primary and universal access to healthcare, a robust primary care system and a generally high life expectancy. However, challenges exist such as the wide life expectancy gap between women and men and an ageing population. Moreover, it has been observed that Seychelles has experienced a rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The graph below shows that cardiovascular, respiratory diseases and cancer account for about 60 percent of deaths in Seychelles. 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Trends in Causes of death as percentage of all deaths 0% 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 ■Cardio-vascular Respiratory system ■Infectious and parasitic ■Cancers External causes Other causes Source: World Bank staff calculations based on Ministry of Health data

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