[PEN-L:194] Two reports highlight the growth of global

["Frank Durgin" <fdurgin1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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Frank
                   WSWS : News & Analysis : Medicine & Health

                   Two reports highlight the growth of global
                   poverty and ill-health

                   By Tania Kent
                   23 September 1998

                   Two recent reports by the World Health Organisation and
the United
                   Nations focus on the poverty, degradation and social
squalor confronting
                   millions of people world-wide. Both highlight the fact
that despite a
                   tremendous growth in economic activity--due to the
penetration of
                   transnational corporations into every corner of the
world and the
                   development of productivity, technique and
computerisation--the world's poor
                   have not benefited.

                   The World Health Organisation (WHO) report coincides
with the body's
                   fiftieth anniversary. It is a comprehensive review of
the health and well
                   being of the world's population throughout this period
as well as a prognosis
                   for the next 25 years.

                   There are many signs access to health care has become an
issue in
                   advanced industrial countries as a result of the
deepening economic crisis.
                   WHO reports that for the first time in decades, life
expectancy in Europe
                   actually declined last year. Rapid and severe
impoverishment and outbreaks
                   of infectious disease resulted in a dramatic drop in
life expectancy in the
                   former Stalinist-ruled countries. This was a reversal of
a steady 20-year rise
                   in life expectancy these countries.

                   While overall health standards globally have steadily
increased over the
                   years, the health gap between the rich and poor is at
least as wide as it was
                   half a century ago, and becoming wider. In general
non-communicable
                   diseases such as coronary heart disease, cancer,
diabetes and mental
                   disorders are more common than infectious diseases in
the advanced
                   countries.

                   The report notes, however, that whilst life expectancy
is increasing globally,
                   three out of four people in the poorest nations today
are dying before the age
                   of 50--the global life expectancy figure of half a
century ago. This year, of
                   21 million deaths world-wide, 2 out of 5 will be to
those under the age of 50,
                   including 10 million children who will never see their
first birthday. About
                   300 million people live in 16 countries where life
expectancy actually
                   decreased between 1975 and 1995.

                   In 1997, of a global total of 52.2 million deaths, 17.3
million were due to
                   infectious and parasitic diseases; 15.3 million were due
to circulatory
                   diseases; 6.2 million were due to cancer; 2.9 million
were due to respiratory
                   diseases and 3.6 million were due to perinatal
conditions. The leading causes
                   of deaths from infectious diseases were acute lower
respiratory infections
                   (3.7 million), tuberculosis (2.9 million), HIV/AIDS (2.3
million) and malaria
                   (1.5-2.7 million)

                   About 50 percent of deaths of children under the age of
five are associated
                   with malnutrition. At least 2 million deaths of the
children this age could be
                   prevented by existing vaccines. Most of the rest are
preventable by other
                   means.

                   More than 15 million adults aged 20 to 64 are dying
every year. Most of
                   these deaths are premature and preventable. Among the
premature deaths
                   are those of 585,000 young women who die during
pregnancy or childbirth.
                   While the risk in Europe is one in 1,400, in Asia it is
one in 65 and in Africa
                   one in 16.

                   Tomorrow's children face a "new morbidity" of illnesses
and conditions that
                   are linked to social and economic changes, including
rapid urbanisation,
                   neglect, abuse and violence; especially amongst the
growing numbers of
                   street children. One of the biggest hazards to children
in the twenty-first
                   century will be the continuing spread of AIDS/HIV. In
1997, 590,000
                   children under 15 became infected with HIV. The disease
could reverse
                   some of the major gains achieved in child health over
the last 50 years.

                   The transition from childhood to adulthood will be
marked for many in the
                   coming years by violence, delinquency, drugs, alcohol,
motor vehicle
                   accidents and sexual hazards. For many, especially those
growing up in poor
                   urban areas, adolescence will represent the most
dangerous years of life.

                   The number of people aged over 65 will have risen from
390 million in 1997
                   to 800 million by 2025--from 6.6 percent to 20 percent
of the total population.
                   The medical and social facilities needed for the aged to
lead healthy lives
                   have been vastly reduced through the destruction of
welfare state provision.
                   Even in the advanced countries old people cannot meet
more than a small
                   fraction of the costs of the health care they need. In
the coming years, few
                   countries will be able to provide specialised care for
their large population of
                   aged individuals.

                   The development of globalisation and the rapid
urbanisation associated with
                   it has dramatically altered people's lives. The global
population was 2.8 billion
                   in 1955 and is 5.8 billion now. In 1955, 68 percent
lived in rural areas and 32
                   percent in urban. In 1995 the ratio was 55 percent rural
and 45 percent
                   urban. By 2025 it will be 41 percent rural and 59
percent urban.

                   Despite its contents, the WHO report finishes by
praising the ability of the
                   profit system to resolve these problems. It predicts
that the economic
                   expansion of the 1990s will continue and by 2025 many of
the social
                   problems we now face could be overcome--provided of
course that there is
                   no "major economic crisis".

                   A second report, the UN's Human Development Report,
concentrates on the
                   distribution of the world's resources. It, too, reveals
a tremendous
                   polarisation between rich and poor, between the
oppressed nations and the
                   advanced capitalist powers.

                   World consumption has expanded at an unprecedented pace
over the
                   twentieth century, with private and public consumption
expenditures reaching
                   $24 trillion in 1998, twice the level of 1975 and six
times that of 1950.

                   Consumption per capita has increased steadily in
industrialised countries
                   (about 2.3 percent annually over the past 25 years). In
contrast, the poorest
                   20 percent of the world's population have been left out
of the consumption
                   explosion. The average African household, for instance,
consumes 20
                   percent less than it did 25 years ago.

                   Well over 1 billion people are deprived of basic
consumption needs. Of the
                   4.4 billion people in the oppressed countries, nearly
three-fifths lack basic
                   sanitation. Almost a third have no access to clean
water. One-quarter do not
                   have adequate housing. A fifth have no access to modern
health services
                   and do not have enough dietary energy and protein. A
fifth of children do not
                   attend school to grade 5. World-wide 2.2 billion people
are anemic, including
                   55 million in industrialised countries. In the oppressed
countries, only a
                   privileged minority has access to motorised transport,
telecommunications
                   and modern energy.

                   Globally 20 percent of the world's people in the highest
income countries
                   account for 86 percent of total private consumption
expenditures--the
                   poorest 20 percent a minuscule 1.3 percent.
Specifically, the richest fifth:

                        consume 45 percent of all meat and fish, the
poorest fifth 5 percent;
                        consume 58 percent of total energy, the poorest
fifth less than 4
                        percent;
                        have 74 percent of all telephone lines, the poorest
fifth 1.5 percent;
                        consume 8 percent of all paper, the poorest fifth
1.1 percent;
                        own 87 percent of the world's vehicle fleet, the
poorest fifth less than
                        1 percent.

                   Despite high consumption, poverty and deprivation are
found in all industrial
                   countries and in some they are growing. The report shows
that between 7
                   and 17 percent of the population of industrialised
countries are poor. These
                   levels of deprivation have little to do with the average
income of the country.
                   Sweden has the least poverty (7 percent), though ranked
thirteenth in
                   average income. The United States, with the highest
average income of the
                   countries ranked, has the highest population share
experiencing poverty. The
                   report shows conclusively that underconsumption and
human deprivation are
                   not just the lot of the poor people in the "developing"
world. More than 10
                   million people in advanced nations suffer a similar
fate. More than 100
                   million people are homeless. And at least 37 million
people are without jobs,
                   often experiencing a state of social exclusion.

                   To illustrate the growing divide between rich and poor,
the UN notes that the
                   225 richest people in the world have a combined wealth
of more than
                   $1trillion--equal to the annual incomes of the poorest
47 percent of the
                   earth's population, some 2.5 billion people. The three
richest people on the
                   planet--Microsoft's Bill Gates, the Walton family of
Wal-Mart stores and
                   investor Warren Buffet--have assets exceeding the
combined GDP of the 48
                   least developed countries.

                   "It is estimated that the additional cost of achieving
and maintaining universal
                   access to basic education for all, basic health care for
all, reproductive health
                   care for all women, adequate food for all and safe water
and sanitation for
                   all is roughly $40 billion a year," the UN explains.
"This is less than 4 percent
                   of the combined wealth of the richest 225 people."

                   The report notes, "globalisation is integrating not just
trade, investment and
                   financial markets. It is also integrating consumer
markets. This has two
                   effects--economic and social. Economic integration has
accelerated the
                   opening of consumer markets with a constant flow of new
products.

                   "On the social side local and national boundaries are
breaking down in the
                   setting of social standards and aspirations in
consumption. Market research
                   identifies 'global elites' and 'global middle classes'
who follow the
                   consumption styles, showing preferences for 'global
brands'. There are the
                   'global teens'--some 270 million 15-18 year olds in 40
countries--inhabiting a
                   'global space', a single pop-culture world, soaking up
the same videos and
                   music and providing a huge market for designer running
shoes, t-shirts and
                   jeans."

                   Despite this, "Not only have consumption levels been too
low to meet basic
                   needs for more than a billion people, their growth has
often been slow and
                   interrupted by setbacks. In 70 countries with nearly a
billion people,
                   consumption today is lower than it was 25 years ago. In
cannot be raised
                   without accelerating economic growth--but growth has
been failing many
                   poor countries. Despite the spectacular growth of
incomes for many people
                   in Asia, only 21 developing countries world-wide
achieved growth in GDP
                   per capita of at least 3 percent each year between 1995
and 1997--the rate
                   needed to set a frame for reducing poverty."

                   Again, after presenting a devastating indictment of the
social impact of the
                   profit system, the UN arrives at conclusions even more
bankrupt than the
                   WHO. The report is prefaced by the Keynesian economist
J.K. Galbraith,
                   who baldly states that the growth of poverty can be
attributed to a mixture of
                   personal greed and disinterest: "The problem is not
economics; it goes back
                   to a far deeper part of human nature. As people become
fortunate in their
                   personal well-being, and as countries become similarly
fortunate, there is a
                   common tendency to ignore the poor ... it is a habit of
mind to which I would
                   now attribute major responsibility."

                   With respect to the plight of the poor nations, the
problem is that the
                   imperialist powers in their haste to grant their former
colonial possessions
                   self-determination, "left a number of countries without
effective
                   self-government," Galbraith states. The answer? A return
to imperialist rule
                   and gunboat diplomacy: "Nothing is so accepted in our
time as respect for
                   sovereignty; nothing, on occasion, so protects disorder,
poverty and
                   hardship.... I do believe we need a much stronger role
for international
                   action, including the United Nations."

                   See Also:
                   Sleeping sickness ravages Central Africa
                   [5 September 1998]
                   Reports document worldwide epidemic
                   The worst year in history for tuberculosis
                   [20 June 1998]

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