What’s New September 2008

This page lists changes to this site for September 2008.

See below for other updates and to get notified of changes to the site.

The latest World Bank figures for world poverty reveals a higher number of people live in poverty than previously thought. For example, the new poverty line is defined as $1.25 a day. 1.4 billion people live on or below that line. Furthermore, almost half the world—over three billion people—live on less than $2.50 a day and at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. This update includes further discussion of those numbers with additional charts and graphs.

Inequality is a major cause of death, a World Health Organization report notes. A 3-year study found that even in wealthier nations, average life span can vary by some 28 years and the poorer you are the more likely you are to die younger. The majority of the world does not enjoy good health and this is largely due to bad social, political and economic policy choices. Two short video clips and additional information have been added regarding this as well as a look at how health issues are changing as the world's population becomes more and more urbanized. Finally, the issue of emphasis on drugs and commercialization of health systems over more effective preventative care is also introduced.

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