Attacking poverty : world development report 2000/2001

The nature and evolution of poverty --
Causes of poverty and a framework for action --
Growth, inequality, and poverty --
Making markets work beter for poor people --
Expanding poor people's assets and tackling inequalities --
Making state institutions more responsive to poor people --
Removing social barriers and building social institutions --
Helping poor people manage risk --
Managing economic crises and natural disasters --
Harnessing global forces for poor people --
Reforming development cooperation to attack poverty.

"Poor people live without fundamental freedoms of action and choice that the better-off take for granted. They often lack adequate food and shelter, education and health, deprivations that keep them from leading the kind of life that everyone values. They also face extreme vulnerability to ill health, economic dislocation, and natural disasters. And they are often exposed to ill treatment by institutions of the state and society and are powerless to influence key decisions affecting their lives. At the start of a new century, poverty remains a global problem of huge proportions. Of the world's 6 billion people, 2.8 billion live on less than $2 a day and 1.2 billion on less than $1 a day. Eight out of every 100 infants do not live to see their fifth birthday. Nine of every 100 boys and 14 of every 100 girls who reach school age do not attend school. Poverty is also evident in poor people's lack of political power and voice and in their extreme vulnerability to ill health, economic dislocation, personal violence and natural disasters. And the scourge of HIV/AIDS, the frequency and brutality of civil conflicts, and rising disparities between rich countries and the developing world have increased the sense of deprivation and injustice for many."--Http://web.worldbank.org.