As one of a generation who were either present, or glued to the television for LiveAid in 1985, my understanding of the true nature of extreme poverty is very much based on its’ media presentation. A news report from Ethiopia challenged the world to take action, and that rally for support of developing nations has continued in one form or another since. As part of a global initiative on poverty awareness, the journal has joined over 200 others to create a themed issue, with papers on poverty and human development. Our other authors have written about two very different elements of poverty – working in situations of absolute poverty, and working for agencies dealing with the homeless in a developed country.