Mass poverty is one of the world’s most pressing problems and daunting challenges. The compelling facts are well known:

• Over one billion people – almost one in five – live in extreme poverty, subsisting on less than a dollar a day.
• If the poverty line was raised to $2 a day, more than half of the world’s population would be living in poverty.
• Over 100 million primary school-age children cannot afford to go to school.
• Eight million people die each year simply because they lack the means to survive.