West frightened by the poor

The international community has just pledged $2.5 billion to fight
bird flu (Jan 19: "Cash flows as experts warn of bird flu's cost").
The wealthy west is terrified by the sight of sick children living on
poor farms in the third world.

Here's an idea: try to relieve poverty for pity's and morality's sake,
not just because we are afraid that the poor and sick will bring
crashing down the comfortable castle we in the west are living in.