With the world perilously close to a global crisis in infectious diseases, the UN health body has chalked out a 20-point programme on how to prevent it. WHO has admitted that the promised slogan of "health for all by the year 2000' may not after all be met considering the onslaught of new diseases and the revival of old.

While poverty has once again been reiterated as the cause behind a large number of deaths and the spread of disease and suffering worldwide, WHO states that political commitment to prioritise health would help in mitigating illness-related deaths.

More bad news. According to a recently released UN report Cities At Risk , typhoons, floods, earthquakes and landslides are affecting more people each year and the most at risk are city dwellers. Said Olavi Elo, UN director of disaster reduction, with more people migrating to cities, land demand increases and slums proliferate on hazardous areas like ravines, river banks, unstable slopes and reclaimed land.