ABSTRACT
The economic and social development of the world’s poorest countries is perhaps the greatest challenge facing society at the present time. Over one billion of the world’s seven billion population live in absolute poverty; the same number suffer various degrees of malnutrition, and millions have no access to safe water, healthcare or education. This poverty is concentrated largely in countries described as ‘developing’, and coexists with the aff luence enjoyed by the vast majority of people in countries described as ‘developed’.
