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Human Development

The Commonwealth Secretariat delivers its programme on human development through its Education, Health, and Gender Affairs sections which make up the Social Transformation Programmes Division (STPD).

Human DevelopmentThey aim to develop policies and strategies that address major education and health challenges, build up an education knowledge bank, tackle issues relating to gender and equity, and come up with human resource development approaches that involve quality improvement and capacity building.

STDP works at national, pan-Commonwealth and international levels to address gender, education and health issues which are relevant to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The three sections assist member countries with policy advice, strategy development, tools and methodologies, training, strengthening institutional capacity, and capacity utilisation.

The Gender Section focuses on implementing the new Commonwealth Plan of Action on Gender 2005-2015, addressing four critical areas for Commonwealth action to advance gender equality:

  • Gender, democracy, peace and conflict;
  • Gender and human rights;
  • Gender, poverty eradication and economic empowerment; and
  • Gender and HIV/AIDS.

The Education Section pursues the educational goals relating to MDGs and works for universal education for all by 2015. It focuses on the following action points set out by the 15th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM), held in Edinburgh 2003:

  • Universal Primary Education;
  • Gender Disparities; 
  • Supporting Education in Difficult Circumstances;
  • Improving Quality in Education;
  • Mitigating the Impact of HIV/AIDS; and
  • Using Distance Learning.
  • Education and human development in small states is a cross-cutting area of the Section's work. The work programme covers all levels of education from basic to tertiary/university level. There is also a particular focus on teacher training and non-formal education.

The Health Section's programmes focus on:

  • Combating HIV/AIDS;
  • Maternal health; 
  • Infant health; and
  • Managed migration of human resources in health. 
  • The Section carries out training programmes for health workers and develops training materials according to need.

Programme delivery is carried out in partnership with international health organisations, pan-Commonwealth organisations and other NGOs.