We are angry because many illnesses and deaths have their roots in the economic and social policies that are imposed on us. In recent decades, economic changes world-wide have profoundly affected people s health and their access to health care and other social services. Despite unprecedented levels of wealth in the world, poverty and hunger are increasing. The gap between rich and poor nations has widened, as have inequalities within countries, between social classes, between men and women and between young and old. A large proportion of the world s population still lacks access to food, education, safe drinking water, sanitation, shelter, land and its resources, employment and health care services.
Discrimination continues to prevail.
It affects both the occurrence of disease and access to health care. The planet s natural resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. The resulting degradation of the environment threatens everyone s health, especially the health of the poor. There has been an upsurge of new conflicts while weapons of mass destruction still pose a grave threat. The world s resources are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few who strive to maximise their private profit.