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Poverty and human development A perspective on cardiovascular disease in sub-Saharan Africa This issue of the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa is a contri-bution to the Council of Science Editors ’ global theme issue on poverty and human development. The poverty-stricken nations of the world lie largely between latitudes 15 ° south and 30 ° north of the equator, in particular in tropical and subtropical areas. Endemic diseases are rife in these regions, some of which are malaria, schistisomiasis, helmin-thiasis, hydatid disease, amoebic dysentery, spirochaetosis and rickettsia. Other diseases of uncertain origin are also common, such as cardiomyopathies. An in-depth study on the annual per capita income of countries in relation to their environmental temperature rang-es, with its implications for global warming, confirms tha