The 1999 United Nations Human Development report begins: 'The real

wealth of a nation is its people. And the purpose of development is to

create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and

creative lives. This simple but powerful truth is too often forgotten

in the pursuit of material and financial wealth.'

The current trend of globalisation has contradictory implications.

While the last 50 years have witnessed developments that augur better

for the future of humanity—child death rates have fallen by half since

1965, and a child born today can expect to live a decade longer than a

child born 20 years ago; the combined primary and secondary school

enrolment ratio in developing countries has more than doubled—the

world faces huge amounts of deprivation and inequality. Poverty is

everywhere. Measured on the human poverty index—more than a quarter of

the 4.5 billion people in developing countries still do not enjoy some

of life's basic rights—survival beyond the age of 40, access to

knowledge and adequate private and public services.