The distribution of health and education within countries
is as important as income distribution; life expectancy may be quite high
for better-off people in developing countries but far lower for the poor. Child
mortality rates in developing countries remain more than ten times higher
than those found in the rich countries. These deaths generally result from conditions
that are easily treatable, including millions who continue to die needlessly
each year from dehydration caused by diarrhea. If child death rates in
developing countries fell to those prevailing in the developed countries, the
lives of more than 8 million children would be saved each year. Many children
who survive nonetheless suffer chronic problems of malnutrition, debilitating
parasitic infections, and other recurrent illnesses.