2. Pulling up the ladder: the widening wealth gap

Too many poor; too many hungry

Rio identified the eradication of poverty as an "essential task". Ten years later, that goal seems as remote as ever. About 1.3 billion people live on less than $1 a day, and around 160 million children suffer from malnutrition. The Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations call for cutting hunger and poverty in half by 2015. But without fundamental changes of commitment, success might be elusive.

A study published in early 2002 found that the richest one per cent of people in the world earn the same as the poorest 57 per cent. According to the United Nations, the net worth of the three richest families in the world--namely the Gates family, the Sultan of Brunei and the Walton family--is equal to the GDP of the world's poorest 43 countries put together.

In many developed countries, income statistics point to a disturbing, and often widening, gap between the top and the bottom of the wealth pyramid. The United Nations has estimated that more than 100 million people living in wealthy countries, including more than 15 per cent of Americans, live in poverty.

Income inequality--the degree to which a country's net earnings are skewed towards a small number of wealthy individuals--is on the increase. In 1979, the richest 20 per cent of Americans earned nine times more than the poorest 20 per cent. By 1997, they were earning 15 times more.

The countries that have the widest wealth gap are not generally the most affluent ones. One of the greatest rifts between rich and poor can be found in Brazil, where nearly half of the nation's income goes to just 10 per cent of earners. Chile, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Kenya also experience similar rifts. While poverty is an issue that concerns all of humanity, it is clear that many governments could be doing more to take care of their least well-off citizens.

As if to prove that poverty is not only a southern hemisphere issue, the sharpest deterioration in living standards during the 1990s took place in eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics.

The contrast between rich and poor nations is as stark as ever. Despite rising incomes globally, the income gap between wealthy and impoverished countries continues to widen, and many developing countries spend more on servicing their debt than on providing basic social services for their people.

Trade is widely acknowledged to be as least as vital as aid in improving the long-term outlook for developing countries. Yet while the globalization of trade has created new streams of income for some developing countries, there is a growing unease that the benefits are not being felt equitably. In particular, the wealthy countries of the northern hemisphere continue to maintain trade barriers in crucial areas of commerce such as textiles and clothing.

Poverty remains a formidable obstacle on the path to sustainable development. It threatens not only individual livelihoods but also the stability of nations and regions. Wealth is a key issue, but we will meet poverty and hunger reduction goals only if we make progress on other aspects of development, including education, gender equity, health and the environment.