Global poverty is ours to reject

Abstract

"Canada is a wealthy country and a comfortable place to live. In contrast, much of the world is poverty stricken and is an uncomfortable place to die. This difference is the greatest single challenge, in medicine or any other discipline, of our lifetime. In this issue, CMAJ focuses on poverty and human development as part of a global initiative by the Council of Science Editors. More than 200 scientific journals have agreed to publish articles on this theme during October. Why take the struggle to medical journals? Because if global poverty is to be shifted, then a sea change in thinking is needed — one in which Canadian doctors have an indispensable role as proxy voices for the world’s poorest people."