High poverty and mortality persist among the world's "bottom billion", while others grow wealthier and live longer lives.

To an alarming extent, poverty has not only persisted but increased as the South's prospects have improved.

Celebrations erupted in indigenous Andean communities where extreme poverty has persisted despite a commodities-fuelled economic boom.

However, overeating is also a problem in countries where hunger and poverty persist.

It reflects the debates in many nations, including the United States, about why poverty persists even in regions of substantial economic growth and political freedom.

But why poverty persists in certain areas is a complex problem, and what can be done to help isn't always clear.

Our Washington correspondent, Paul Adams reports on how severe poverty in America's southern states still persists 40 years after the civil rights movement.

That poverty persists despite these efforts is less a reason to give up than a reason to learn from what works and what does not.

Poor labor quality discourages capital from flowing into a country, which means that poverty persists.

But the poverty persists, along with the nation's highest rates of infant mortality, teen-age pregnancy and illiteracy.