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28 Fighting the Diseases of Poverty
Figure 12 Cereal yield vs. income, 1975–2003
Cereal yield (kg per hectare)
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
cy1975
cy2003
cyp1975
cyp2003
0
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000
Source: Based on data from World Bank (2005b)
GDP per capita (2000 International $, PPP)
populations above 50,000 had twice the death rates of rural areas in
the 1830s (Fogel, 2000). Evidently, overcrowding, lack of knowledge
about hygiene, and the lack of safe water and sanitation made
urban populations more susceptible to contagious diseases such as
cholera, typhoid and tuberculosis. The image of urban suffering
compared to a healthier rural life is reinforced in the mind of anyone
who visits the over-crowded and polluted urban areas of the developing
world, which give the impression that life in developing countries
is worsening as cities grow.
In fact, however, urban residents are better off in most developing
countries. When measured by the United Nations’ Human Development
Index and its related Human Poverty Index, there is more
progress and less deprivation in urban areas (UNDP, 2000). For
instance, in Swaziland, the rural HDI was 35 per cent below the
urban level in 1999, reflecting less access to safe water, sanitation
and public health services; lower rates of literacy; and higher rates
of undernourishment. Figure 11 shows the urban–rural divide for