Inequality - shock! horror!

The world media are engrossed in the revelation that by next year the richest 1 percent of the world’s population will own more than the other 99 percent combined. The richest 80 individuals in the world have the same wealth as the poorest 50 percent of the entire population, some 3.5 billion people, according to Oxfam. This is an even bigger concentration at the top than a year ago, when half the world’s wealth was in the hands of 85 of the ultra-rich. Oxfam’s “wealthy” category, bridging the gap between the "middle class" and the top 1% includes just under 8% of people.

Most of us can only dream of a jaw-dropping fortune but if you are wondering whether you qualify for the top 1 percent bracket, you will need a cool 2.3 million euros ($2.7 million) according to the average figure per adult, quoted by Oxfam.

On the other end of the scale, if everything you own is worth less than 8,600 euros ($10,000), you’re in good company, almost 70 percent of the world’s adults fall below this level. A billion people still live on less than 1 euro a day ($1.25) – barely enough to buy a cup of coffee.

The world’s “middle class” comprises about 20 percent of the population, counting their wealth between 8,600 euros and 86,000 euros ($100,000), well below the cost of a house in many European countries. 

Oxfam’s executive director, Winnie Byanyima, asks us “Do we really want to live in a world where the one percent own more than the rest of us combined?”

Nope. But nor do we want to live in any world where there exists exploitation that benefits a minority over the interests of the majority, regardless of the percentage.

It’s true that there would be enough to go around if everyone shared equitably, but capitalism is not a society based upon sharing out things fairly. “Feeding the world” only makes sense if it’s bottom up rather than top down. It doesn’t help relieve poverty when super-efficient, heavily subsdised farmers in the E.U. outcompete poor farmers in the global south. 70 percent of the world’s poor depend, at least in part, on farming. Cutting their income by “free trade” won’t help. We don’t need more Big Ag new technology, all we have to do is make sure everything is distributed according to need.

Under-nutrition induced by poverty is one of the most serious food security challenges.

“Under-nourishment is the mother of malnutrition in cereal-based diets. We should replace a purely drug-based approach for treatment of TB, HIV-AIDS and leprosy with a food-cum-drug approach. After many years, agriculture, nutrition and health are coming together to treat hunger in a holistic manner,” Dr. Swaminathan said in his presidential address on ‘Science and Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security’ at the inaugural function of the 6th Indian Youth Congress at Acharya Nagarjuna University. Pointing out the disturbing facts, Dr. Swaminathan said 45 per cent of children below three years were stunted, one in three malnourished children lived in India, and under-nutrition was associated with half of under-five age deaths worldwide. Dr. Swaminathan said high priority should be given to establishing safe and modern food storages at the farm level, procurement centres and thirdly, in a national food security storage grid. 

The global World Health Organisation report on Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) released today has warned that the death toll due to NCDs would mount to 52 million by the year 2030 from 38 million in 2012. Non-communicable diseases have emerged as a major cause of deaths in the South-East Asia Region. Nearly 8.5 million people died of NCDs in the South-East Asia Region in 2012. Heart diseases, cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases account for most of the deaths.

“While NCDs are a global public health challenge, nearly three quarters of the deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The problem is growing, particularly in the South-East Asia Region, where two out of three deaths are caused by non-communicable diseases,” said Dr PoonamKhetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. Today, a 30 year old person living in the WHO South-East Asia Region has 25 per cent chances of dying from one of the four main NCDs before his or her 70th birthday, says the WHO. “This probability is much less at 15 per cent for an individual in the Americas. Most of the premature NCD deaths are preventable. Promoting simple lifestyle changes and diet modifications can prevent NCDs. These recommendations include effective, high-impact interventions such as banning all forms of tobacco and alcohol advertising, reducing salt consumption, replacing trans fats with polyunsaturated fats, promoting and protecting breastfeeding, early detection and treatment of high blood pressure and preventing cervical cancer through periodic screening,” the release quoted Dr Singh as saying. NCDs impede efforts to alleviate poverty and advance sustainable development. When people fall sick and die in the prime of their lives, productivity suffers. Besides, the cost of treating diseases can be devastating — both to the individual and to the country’s health system.