Abject poverty in the midst of abundant natural wealth

A fetid river flows through Mabella slum in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown, March 13, 2008. In Sierra Leone, which ranks bottom of the U.N. Human Development Index, more than a quarter of children die before their fifth birthday, often through avoidable water-related illnesses like diarrhoea. To match feature WATER-LEONE REUTERS/Katrina Manson (SIERRA LEONE)