The WTO was the answer to those demands, an institution whose secret tribunals can overrule national laws if they are found to violate the rights of corporations. The World Bank is best known for financing big projects like dams, roads, and power plants, supposedly designed to assist in economic development, but which have often been associated with monumental environmental devastation and social dislocation. Considering how impoverished many of these countries were to start with, the effects of these policies have been predictably devastating. The great majority of the people of the South are enduring increased poverty, decreased access to basic services, and decreased control over their own economies. Reduce expenditures on health, education, etc.
Literacy rates go down.
Poorly-educated generation not equipped for skilled jobs Higher fees for medical service mean less treatment, more suffering, needless deaths. Women, already overburdened, must provide healthcare and caretaking for family members. Reduce budget expense by trimming payroll and programs. Small farmers sell land, work as tenants or move to worse lands. Reduce government expenditures supporting reduced cost of bread, petroleum, etc.