Copenhagen's world summit for social development has come and gone, but women and children continue to bear the brunt of socioeconomic adjustment and consequent ill health. Their burden is particularly poignant in sub-Saharan Africa, where indicators such as female literacy, maternal mortality, infant mortality, mortality among under 5s, and immunisation rates continue to stagnate or deteriorate. In Copenhagen some of the world's most powerful leaders discussed the social problems that afflict every country, "especially poverty, unemployment and social exclusion." Their declaration to target the causes of poverty, however, are unlikely to focus on the structural and institutional causes of poverty.
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