A Basic Needs Approach to Development

A basic needs (BN) approach to development is one which gives priority to meeting the basic needs of all the people. The actual content of BN have been variously defined: they always include the fulfilment of certain standards of nutrition, (food and water), and the universal provision of health and education services. They sometimes also cover other material needs, such as shelter and clothing, and non-material needs such as employment, participation and political liberty.1 The idea of making the meeting of certain fundamental human needs a development priority is not a recent idea nor a sophisticated one; it stems from the simple view that development should be concerned with removing absolute deprivation, as a first priority. This idea finds rhetorical echoes in the speeches of almost every statesman in developing countries, and every preamble to a development plan. But when it comes to translating the idea into action — into plans, policies and projects — the achievement of BN becomes more complex, both in terms of identifying the appropriate measures, and in terms of mobilising the required political will.