One third of the world's population live in countries which cannot provide the minimum basic health care to all their children; at least 800 million people have no access to public health care at all. They include at least 100 million more people in the less developed countries of South and South East Asia such as bangladesh, Nepal and Laos.

A quarter of the world's poplulation have no safe drinking water and a third are inadequately sheltered and clothed, with little access to effective education and health. Across the developing world 12.2 million children under the age of five will die this year largely from diseases that can be prevented. Eight thousand children will die each day from diarrhoeal dehydration

The only viable long term approach in the fight to reduce poverty and economic dependence is to provide the resources for people in need to support themselves on a long term continuing basis and not rely on short term one off financial or material contributions.