STWR - Share The World's Resources

While nearly a quarter of a billion people escaped life in the slums over the past decade, rural exodus to the cities has more than countered this trend. Sustainable urban development is likely to prove impossible if the urban divide is allowed to persist, finds a report by UN-HABITAT.

The emergence of a significant middle class – who demand increasing space for their accommodation – means that the urban poor are everywhere being constricted to a decreasing proportion of land. In these city spaces they exist as a ‘fugitive humanity’, writes Jeremy Seabrook.

With few exceptions, the lower an individual’s socioeconomic position, the worse their health. Tackling inequality in health requires addressing disparities in income, education and well-being across society, finds a report by the Marmot Review.

Despite rhetoric of increased flexibility, the IMF’s policy prescriptions, such as budget limitations and the prioritisation of debt repayments, still severely restrict governments’ ability to invest in public health. A report by Global Health in the UK and the Stop AIDS Campaign.

The aftershock of the global financial crisis could deprive millions of children in the world’s poorest countries of an education. Two reports offer alternative ideas on how governments and donors should counter this ‘collective failure’. By UNESCO and Oxfam.

A lack of international political will is contributing to the unnecessary deaths of more than six million children a year. At least two-thirds of these children could be saved if governments in rich countries make child health a global priority, says a report by World Vision.

At a special session at the UN General Assembly, world leaders unveiled a plan for free healthcare for some of the world's poorest countries. But doing away with user fees alone is no panacea for improving medical access for the poor, reports IRIN.