Glossary

Capability:

Capability refers to what a person is capable of doing and being. It includes basic capabilities such as being adequately nourished, being comfortably clothed, avoiding escapable mortality and preventable mortality, and leading a life without shame. However, capabilities go beyond a person's ability to satisfy his or her basic needs; they include any means to be able to lead a life of well-being.

Conceptual framework:

A set of ideas that are organised to provide a coherent approach to analysing and understanding an issue or problem. The framework organises, clarifies and defines terms and concepts. It also spells out the assumptions and values that underlie the concepts.

Entitlements:

Resources that people have the right to access.

Holistic:

Means "all", "whole", "entire", "total". The idea is that natural systems (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) and their properties, should be viewed as wholes, not as collections of parts.

Inequality:

Inequality, when considered in its economic or social dimensions, refers to the disparity in resources within a society or internationally.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs):

The MDGs are a set of 8 time-bound goals to reduce poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women by the year 2015. They were agreed upon by the world's leaders at a special United Nations assembly in September 2000 to mark the turn of the century.

Reproductive activities:

Activities that maintain the household, including raising and caring for children, cooking, cleaning, washing, fetching water and fuel, going shopping and building and maintaining the home.