State and local governments have plenty of programs to help the truly poor meet their basic needs.

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Robert Dunn: When people are unable to meet their basic needs, enjoy their fundamental rights or have access to opportunities to fulfill their human potential, there is often an urgent need to address these shortcomings with temporary assistance.

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So do those who had just begun to claw their way out of the slums but are now impoverished once again: this year perhaps another 100m people in East Asia will be unable to meet their basic needs.

ECONOMIST: Its champions are down but not out

Each person has the right to pursue an education, to meet their most basic needs, to express themselves.

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The church and voluntary organisations have housed some as best they can, and try to meet some of their basic needs.

ECONOMIST: The Colombian clearances | The