ABSTRACT
The number of people in the global South without access to (adequate) basic services is staggering. Globally, more than 1.1 billion people are not able to obtain safe water supplies, 2.4 billion people do not have access to any type of improved sanitation facility, and 1.4 billion do not have electricity services; the vast majority of these people live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (IEA 2010, WHO 2011a). These numbers would be much higher if one were to include other criteria such as affordability, quality of supply, and ease of access. Figures for health care are more difficult to estimate given the wide range of health services one needs to consider, but access to maternal health services, anti-retroviral drugs and a suite of other primary care facilities and support is depressingly low in many parts of the South, despite some gains made on the Millennium Development Goals health objectives (WHO 2011b).
