(EID-026) “PHYSICAL FRAMEWORKS FOR DEVELOPMENT”

On the practical side, it is always better to have a physical framework in planning and implementing a development program. This is the reason why each of the five areas of development chosen by the United National Integrated Development Alliance (UNIDA), namely Shelter, Health, Agriculture, Protection and Education (SHAPE for short) have their own physical frameworks.

The physical framework for shelter should be composed of all the homes that will be built as part of new communities, within the context of the Human Settlements approach. As an objective, these homes should not only be affordable, these should also be cost-efficient, so that the homeowners could sustain their occupancy in the long term.

The physical framework for health should be composed of all the hospitals and clinics all over the country. Steps are now being taken to form what would become the United National Association for Health (UNAHEALTH), which is slated to become the UNIDA member organization that would focus on health concerns.

The physical framework for agriculture should be composed of all the farms and ranches all over the country. The emphasis on ranches is purposive, because of the new economic viability of cattle ranching as brought about by new technologies. Needless to say, it will also include the community of fishponds and orchards.

The physical framework for protection should be composed of all the police stations and outposts all over the country. The emphasis on outposts is also purposive, because there is a need to build these physical structures where they do not exist. In line with this end however, there is a need to reorient the thinking of the police towards public safety in general and environmental protection in particular, and not just the enforcement of anti-crime laws.

The physical framework for education should be composed of all the schools and learning centers all over the country. The emphasis on learning centers is also purposive, because of new technologies that enable the delivery of education outside the traditional school system.

It appears that the common denominator for all of these physical frameworks is the network of information and communications systems that should be built in all the project locations, to interconnect everything.