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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:14.4pt'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;
font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>TWN Info Service on Health Issues
(November 06/8)<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:14.4pt'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;
font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>23 November 2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:14.4pt'><st1:place
w:st="on"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;
font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Third World</span></font></b></st1:place><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font color=black><span lang=EN-GB
style='color:black;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> Network<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:14.4pt'><span
class=SpellE><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;
font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>www.twnside.org.sg</span></font></b></span><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font color=black><span lang=EN-GB
style='color:black;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:14.4pt'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;
font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:14.4pt'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;
font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:
bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Development: Need for global action
plan to tackle water and sanitation crisis</span></font></b><span lang=EN-GB
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:14.4pt'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;
font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:14.4pt'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;
font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:14.4pt'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;
font-weight:bold'>Unlike wars and natural disasters, the global water and
sanitation crisis does not <span class=SpellE>galvanise</span> international
action. This was one of the key messages in the <span class=SpellE>UNDP’s</span>
report ‘Human Development Report 2006: Beyond scarcity – Power,
poverty and the global water crisis’.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:14.4pt'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;
font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:14.4pt'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;
font-weight:bold'>The following article outlines the Report’s concerns
and what needs to be done. It is reproduced with the permission of</span></font></b><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font color=black><span lang=EN-GB
style='color:black;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> South-North
Development Monitor (SUNS) # 6138, 10 November 2006.</span></font></b><b><span
style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US;font-weight:bold'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:14.4pt'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:14.4pt'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>With
best wishes<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:14.4pt'><span class=SpellE><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;
font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Evelyne</span></font></b></span><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font color=black><span lang=EN-GB
style='color:black;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> Hong<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:14.4pt;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;
font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>TWN<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Development: Need for global action
plan to tackle water and sanitation crisis</span></font></b><span lang=EN-GB
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>By <span class=SpellE>Kanaga</span>
Raja, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Geneva</st1:place></st1:City>, 9
November 2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US'><br style='mso-special-character:line-break'>
<![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]><br style='mso-special-character:line-break'>
<![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:12.0pt'>A Global Plan of Action under G8 leadership is
urgently needed to resolve <span class=GramE>a growing</span> water and
sanitation crisis that causes nearly two million child deaths every year, the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said Thursday.<br>
<br>
This was one of the main messages highlighted in the <span class=SpellE>UNDP's</span>
''Human Development Report 2006: Beyond scarcity - Power, poverty and the
global water crisis''. Across much of the developing world, HDR-2006 said,
unclean water is an immeasurably greater threat to human security than violent
conflict.<br>
<br>
According to the report, each year, 1.8 million children die from diarrhoea
that could be prevented with access to clean water and a toilet; 443 million
school days are lost to water-related illnesses; and almost 50% of all people
in developing countries are suffering at any given time from a health problem
caused by a lack of water and sanitation.<br>
<br>
To add to these human costs, the crisis in water and sanitation holds back
economic growth, with sub-Saharan <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>
losing five percent of GDP annually or some $28.4 billion - far more than the
region receives in aid.<br>
<br>
Another key message in the report is that the gap between the richest and
poorest countries in the world is growing, as human development in Sub-Saharan
Africa stagnates and progress in other regions accelerates.<br>
<br>
The report says that unlike wars and natural disasters, the global water and
sanitation crisis does not galvanize concerted international action. Like
hunger, it is a silent emergency experienced by the poor and tolerated by those
with the resources, the technology and the political power to end it. With less
than a decade left to reach the Millennium Development Goals (<span
class=SpellE>MDGs</span>) by 2015, <span class=GramE>this needs</span> to
change, the report stresses.<br>
<br>
"When it comes to water and sanitation, the world suffers from a surplus
of conference activity and a deficit of credible action. The diversity of
international actors has militated against the development of strong
international champions for water and sanitation," said Kevin Watkins,
lead author of the report.<br>
<br>
"National governments need to draw up credible plans and strategies for
tackling the crisis in water and sanitation. But we also need a Global Action
Plan - with active buy-in from the G8 countries - to focus fragmented
international efforts to mobilize resources and galvanize political action by
putting water and sanitation front and centre on the development agenda,"
he added.<br>
<br>
The Action Plan would act as a ''virtual mechanism'', says the report, citing
as a useful reference point the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria - all run by a small secretariat with minimal bureaucracy.<br>
<br>
In addition to creating a Global Action Plan, the report recommends that the
following three foundations are crucial for success:<br>
<br>
(1) Make water a human right: The report advocates for all governments to go
beyond vague constitutional principles in enabling legislation to ensure the
human right to a secure, accessible and affordable supply of water. At a
minimum, this implies a target of at least 20 litres of clean water a day for
every citizen - and at no cost for those too poor to pay. While a person in the
<st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region> or <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> sends 50
litres down the drain each day by simply flushing their toilet, many poor
people survive on less than five litres of contaminated water per day.<br>
<br>
(2) Draw up national strategies for water and sanitation: The report urges all
governments to prepare national plans for accelerating progress in water and
sanitation, with ambitious targets backed with financing to the tune of at
least one percent of GDP, and clear strategies for overcoming inequalities.
Water and sanitation suffer from chronic under-funding - public spending is
typically less than 0.5% of GDP. This figure is dwarfed by military spending -
in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region>, for example,
the military budget is 10 times the water and sanitation budget, while in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
<span class=GramE>it</span> is 47 times.<br>
<br>
The report also says that national poverty reduction agendas reflect the
pervasive benign neglect of water and sanitation. The sector seldom figures
with any prominence in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (<span class=SpellE>PRSPs</span><span
class=GramE>)-</span> the documents that set out national plans and define the
terms of cooperation between donors and aid recipients. All <span class=SpellE>PRSPs</span>
should include goals and strategies for narrowing extreme disparities in water
and sanitation provision, with a special focus on inequalities based on wealth,
location and gender.<br>
<br>
(3) Increased international aid: The report calls for an extra $3.4 billion to
$4 billion annually to have any chance of reaching the MDG on water and
sanitation. It states that progress in water and sanitation requires large
upfront investments with a very long payback period, so innovative financing
strategies like the International Finance Facility are essential. This would be
money well-spent, says the report, which estimates the economic return in saved
time, increased productivity and reduced health costs at $8 for each $1
invested in achieving the water and sanitation target.<br>
<br>
The UNDP estimates the total additional cost of achieving the MDG on access to
water and sanitation - to be sourced domestically and internationally - at
about $10 billion a year. ''The $10 billion price tag for the MDG seems a large
sum - but it has to be put in context. It represents less than five days' worth
of global military spending and less than half what rich countries spend each
year on mineral water,'' the report argues.<br>
<br>
The human development gains would be immense. Closing the gap between current
trends and the MDG target on water and sanitation would save more than one
million children's lives over the next decade and bring total economic benefits
of about $38 billion annually. The benefits for Sub-Saharan Africa - about $15
billion - would represent 60% of its 2003 aid flows.<br>
<br>
As it now stands, according to the report, the world is on schedule to reach
the MDG on access to water - largely because of strong progress in <st1:country-region
w:st="on">China</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>
- but only two regions, East Asia and <st1:place w:st="on">Latin America</st1:place>,
are on track for sanitation. But this picture masks some real problems - on
current trends, sub-Saharan <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> will reach
the water target in 2040 and the sanitation target in 2076. For sanitation, <st1:place
w:st="on">South Asia</st1:place> is four years off track, and for water, the
Arab States are 27 years off track.<br>
<br>
Measured on a country-by-country basis, this means that 234 million people will
miss the water target, with 55 countries off track, and 430 million people will
not reach the sanitation target, with 74 countries off track. For Sub-Saharan
Africa to get on track, connection rates for water will have to rise from 10
million a year in the past decade to 23 million a year in the next decade.<br>
<br>
The MDG target for water and sanitation is in respect of halving the proportion
of the world population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and
basic sanitation by 2015. Even if the targets are achieved, there will still be
more than 800 million people without water and 1.8 billion people without
sanitation in 2015, says the report.<br>
<br>
"Can the world afford to meet the costs of accelerated progress towards
water and sanitation provision?" asks report author Watkins. "The
more appropriate question is: Can the world afford not to make the
investments?"<br>
<br>
More than 2.6 billion people still lack access to proper sanitation, and 1.1
billion people have no regular access to clean water.<br>
<br>
While basic needs vary, the minimum threshold (of water use) is about 20 litres
a day. Most of the 1.1 billion people categorized as lacking access to clean
water use about 5 litres a day - one-tenth of the average daily amount used in
rich countries to flush toilets. On average, people in Europe use more than 200
litres, while people in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region> use more than 400 litres.<br>
<br>
There is more than enough water in the world for <span class=GramE>domestic
purposes, for agriculture and for industry, says</span> the report. The problem
is that some people - notably the poor - are systematically excluded from
access by their poverty, by their limited legal rights or by public policies
that limit access to the infrastructures that provide water for life and for
livelihoods.<br>
<br>
Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than
$2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day. More than 660 million
people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million
on less than $1 a day.<br>
<br>
The toilet may seem an unlikely catalyst for human development, but the report
provides powerful evidence to show how it benefits people's well-being.
Research shows that in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peru</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
access to a flush toilet reduces the risk of infant death by 59%, compared with
an infant in a household without adequate sanitation. Similarly, in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>, data
show the risk of infant death plummeting by 57% in households with toilets.<br>
<br>
The report also finds that across the world, the poor are forced to pay much
more for clean water than their affluent neighbours.<br>
<br>
<span class=GramE>People living in the slums of <st1:City w:st="on">Jakarta</st1:City>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region>; <st1:City w:st="on">Manila</st1:City>,
the <st1:country-region w:st="on">Philippines</st1:country-region>; and <st1:City
w:st="on">Nairobi</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region>,
pay 5-10 times more for water per unit than those in high-income areas of their
own cities - and more than consumers pay in <st1:City w:st="on">London</st1:City>
or <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">New York</st1:State></st1:place>.</span>
The poorest 20% of households in <st1:country-region w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Jamaica</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nicaragua</st1:place></st1:country-region> spend
on average more than 10% of their household income on water. In the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United Kingdom</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
by contrast, spending more than three percent of family income on water is
considered an economic hardship.<br>
<br>
While the rich usually get water from a single supplier, the poor have to
reckon with a bewildering array of service providers, such as public
stand-pipes, vendors, truckers, and water carriers. Some of the water vendors
access water from the municipal source and then re-sell it at a premium to poor
slum dwellers who do not have access to piped water. As a result, water
delivered through a vendor is often 10 to 20 times more costly than water
provided by the public utility.<br>
<br>
According to the report, the longstanding public-versus-private debate on water
will not bring prices down. In recent years, public debate on water-delivery
policy in developing countries has been dominated by a polarizing discussion on
privatization versus public ownership.<br>
<br>
"The debate over the relative merits of public and private-sector
performance has been a distraction from the inadequate performance of both
public and private water providers in overcoming the global water
deficit," says the report. A new, more strategic approach that puts the
poor at the centre of the solution is essential to reach the Millennium
Development Goals by 2015.<br>
<br>
Some privatization programmes have produced positive results. But the overall
record is not encouraging, says the report.<br>
<br>
From <st1:country-region w:st="on">Argentina</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Bolivia</st1:country-region>, and from the <st1:country-region w:st="on">Philippines</st1:country-region>
to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
the conviction that the private sector offers a "magic bullet" for
unleashing the equity and efficiency needed to accelerate progress towards
water for all has proven to be misplaced. While these past failures of water
concessions do not provide evidence that the private sector has no role to
play, they do point to the need for greater caution, regulation and a
commitment to equity in public-private partnerships.<br>
<br>
Two specific aspects of water provision in countries with low coverage rates
caution against an undue reliance on the private sector. First, the water
sector has many of the characteristics of a natural monopoly. In the absence of
a strong regulatory capacity to protect the public interest through the rules
on pricing and investment, there are dangers of monopolistic abuse.<br>
<br>
Second, in countries with high levels of poverty among <span class=SpellE>unserved</span>
populations, public finance is a requirement for extended access regardless of
whether the provider is public or private.<br>
<br>
Public providers dominate water provision, accounting for more than 90% of the
water delivered through networks in developing countries. Many publicly owned
utilities are failing the poor, combining inefficiency and un-accountability in
management with inequity in financing and pricing, according to the report. But
some public utilities - <st1:City w:st="on">Porto <span class=SpellE>Alegre</span></st1:City>
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>
is an outstanding example - have succeeded in making water affordable and
accessible to all.<br>
<br>
While the number of people served by private water companies has grown - from
about 51 million in 1990 to nearly 300 million in 2002 - public water companies
account for more than 70% of total investment globally, and fewer than 3% of
people in developing countries receive water or sanitation services that are
fully or partially private.<br>
<br>
There are now real opportunities to learn from failures and build on successes,
says the report. The criterion for assessing policy should not be public or
private but performance or non-performance for the poor. Some countries have
registered rapid progress in water provision. From <st1:country-region w:st="on">Colombia</st1:country-region>
to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Senegal</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region>
innovative strategies have been developed for extending access to poor
households in urban areas.<br>
<br>
The report advocates for all governments to go beyond vague constitutional
principles in enabling legislation to ensure the human right to a secure,
accessible and affordable supply of water.<br>
<br>
The report, amongst others, stresses that contract arrangements under
public-private management agreements should set clear goals for expanding
access for poor households living in slums. Non-performance should result in
financial penalties. The same rules should apply to public providers, with non-performance
penalized through incentive systems.<br>
<br>
Lifeline tariffs would allow poor households to access a minimum amount of
water for a very low price or no charge, with usage fees rising thereafter. <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has already legislated that every person should have a minimum of 25 litres of
clean water each day.<br>
<br>
Creating an independent regulator to oversee water providers - including the
intermediaries that serve the poor - is vital for ensuring that water provision
reflects the public interest. Subsidies can play a critical role in delivering
affordable water to the poor, but too often, they instead deliver windfalls to
the non-poor, while impoverished households using public taps face the highest
prices. Using cross-subsidies - a combination of pricing and access policies,
including targeted subsidies - to support standpipe users where coverage rates
are low would be a step towards improved equality.<br>
<br>
The report also says that poor farmers face a potentially catastrophic water
crisis from the combination of climate change and competition for scarce water
resources. Intensifying competition for water is now one of the gravest threats
to sustained human development. Rising industrial demand, urbanization,
population growth and pollution are placing unprecedented stress on water
systems - and on agriculture.<br>
<br>
As competition intensifies, social conflict over water is likely to increase.
The danger is that those with the weakest rights - small farmers and women
producers in particular - will lose out. The great majority of the world's
malnourished people -estimated now at 830 million - are small farmers, herders,
and farm labourers.<br>
<br>
Climate change also threatens to intensify water insecurity on an unparalleled
scale. Even with an agreement to mitigate carbon emissions through
international cooperation, dangerous climate change is now almost inevitable,
and the most severe consequences will be experienced by countries and people
who bear no responsibility for the problem. Parts of sub-Saharan <st1:place
w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> are facing crop losses of up to 25% from
climate-change-induced weather patterns. Meanwhile, accelerated glacial melt
and reduced rainfall threaten major food systems in <st1:place w:st="on">South
Asia</st1:place>.<br>
<br>
The report calls for securing rights to water to give poor people opportunities
to escape poverty. To maintain human progress, governments must recognize,
extend and protect the water rights of the rural poor.<br>
<br>
Efforts thus far to help the poor to adapt to climate change have been
'spectacularly inadequate,' says the report. Agriculture will be the hardest
hit. In some regions, changing rainfall patterns and declining water
availability will reduce yields by a quarter or more by 2050. Global
malnutrition could increase by 15-26%, says the report, with 75 to 125 million
more people facing malnourishment by 2080.<br>
<br>
International aid for adaptation ought to be a cornerstone of multilateral
action on climate change, yet aid transfers have been woefully inadequate, says
the report. The Adaptation Fund attached to the Kyoto Protocol will mobilize
only about $20 million by 2012 on current projections, while the Global
Environmental Facility - the principal multilateral mechanism for adaptation -
has allocated $50 million to support adaptation activities between 2005 and
2007.<br>
<br>
The need for increasing cooperation across national borders to ensure water
security for the poor is more tangible than ever, because by 2025, over three
billion people could be living in countries under water stress.<br>
<br>
The report identifies two broad objectives in <span class=SpellE>transboundary</span>
water governance: replacing unilateral action with multilateral cooperation,
and putting human development concerns, not power and politics, at the centre
of the debate. Getting there will require backing away from rigid sovereignty
claims, strengthening political leadership, and finding a better balance of
power.<br>
<br>
The report also notes that developing countries as a group have seen aid to
agriculture fall from 12% to 3.5% of total aid since the early 1990s. Reversing
these trends will be critical to successful adaptation. Tripling aid to
agriculture - from $3 billion annually to $10 billion by 2010 - should be a
minimum requirement.<br>
<br>
The report finds that countries at the top and bottom of the rankings in this
year's report remain unchanged from last year - <st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region>
ranks highest, while <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niger</st1:place></st1:country-region>
is last of the countries for which sufficient information is available. People
in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region> are more than 40
times wealthier than people in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niger</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and they live almost twice as long.<br>
<br>
As to the entrenched inequality across the globe, the report finds for example
that the combined income of the 500 richest people in the world now exceeds
that of the poorest 416 million people.<br>
<br>
One of the central human development challenges ahead is to diminish tolerance
for the extreme inequalities that have characterized globalization since the
early 1990s, and to ensure that the rising tide of prosperity extends
opportunities for the many, and not just the privileged few, the report
stresses.<span style='mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'><o:p></o:p></span></span></font></p>
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