As the last decade of the twentieth century approaches....

"The world social situation, as the last decade of the twentieth century approaches, is profoundly different from that of a few decades ago, let alone at the beginning of the century',' states the 1989 Report on the World Social Situation. Poverty remains a major challenge to the world community. Pockets of social poverty persist in afl societies, but the greatest numbers of the absolutely poor in the world are in South Asia and subSaharan Africa. Following are some highlights from the report. * A changing family

The family, as a fundamental unit of society and the traditional source of support, socialization and care of family members, has undergone significant structural transformation over the last generation in many regions of the world. This has prompted widespread concern about the ability of the family to discharge its functions towards its members and society at large.

The extended family, which functioned well within the context of mostly agrarian societies, has been replaced by the nuclear family in more industrialized and urbanized societies. With the changes in the status of women, the nuclear family itself is changing substantially.

Households have become smaller and increasingly limited to core families rather than the extended families of the past.

The number in single-parent family and female heads of household has increased. * Women: a long way to go

The situation of women varies greatly among countries. In developed countries, there has been considerable progress in increasing the participation of women in the labour force, but the wages earned and the responsibilities handled by men and women remain very different.

In developing countries, women have sometimes found new employment opportunities, but in countries that have suffered economic setbacks they have often been forced back into jobs with lower status and pay. Women still do not have equal access to education; * Plenty of food, unequally distributed

During the past three or four decades, food supplies have increased considerably, famine has been reduced and nutritional levels raised. Despite these achievements, however, hunger and malnutrition continue to be a world-wide problem. And the situation has deteriorated in many developing countries during the past five years.

The global supply of food, if equally distributed, would provide adequate nutrition for all. But food supplies are not distributed equally among consumers. There are disparities among developed and developing countries, among socio-economic groups within those countries and even within families, where in some instances women and children get less to eat than men. * Who is poor?

The gap between poor and rich countries remains a major challenge. In virtually half the developing countries, per capita gross domestic product in 1988 was lower than in 1980. If per capita incomes in the poor countries continue to grow more slowly than in the rich, as happened in the 1980s, the gap will widen. There is some evidence that the world distribution of income is becoming more unequal over the long term. During the 1980s, however, there has been a slight but perceptible shift towards less unequal distribution. This is unexpected in a period of stagnation or economic decline in many developing countries but is mainly the result of high rates of economic growth in a number of very low-income countries accounting for a large proportion of the world population. * Technology: a powerful force

Technical progress is a powerful force in social change. Recent advances in electronics, biotechnology and materials development have already had a major impact on social life in the advanced industrial countries and, to some extent, on the world community as a whole, which has become more closely integrated owing to new facilities for instant communication.

In some developing countries, advanced technology has permeated a wide array of activities, while in others it remains confined to a few activities, usually concentrated in large urban centres. The latter countries are generally those in which even the absorption of less advanced technology is still lagging. In more affluent societies, concern about the smooth absorption of advanced technology has been at the forefront of public discussions.

New developments in communications have enormously increased the flow of information inside countries and among countries. This has facilitated the mobility of capital and labour, but has posed new problems for countries that can hardly afford capital exports or the loss of proressional or skilled workers. Persistent fears of cultural dominance have also taken on a new dimension. * The environment threatened

Recent advances in science have made clear that the maintenance of life on this planet rests on a delicate balance of forces which is now threatened by the growth of the human population and its increasing exploitation of limited resources.

The complacent belief that waste products of human activity can be disposed of in the limitless sinks of the atmosphere and the water systems of the world has been rudely shaken by the realization that these ecological systems have already been affected by rapid population increase and by the residues of the industrial technology which has so far been the foundation of economic growth.

A major challenge during the next decade and beyond is to combine economic development with environmental protection so as to sustain economic and social progress that is environmentally sound. * Social development, security and

disarmament

At the present time, the mounting social problems in the world community call for the strengthening of social services, which inevitably requires greater budgetary resources. At the same time, large expenditures on armies and armaments absorb substantial shares of these resources in many countries.

The destructive power of the arms already in the hands of Governments poses a massive threat to the survival of life on earth. This has added urgency to calls for disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament. A reduction of tensions in the world economy may be conducive to a major reduction in armaments. * Three global scourges: terrorism,

drugs, AIDS

International terrorism, drug trafficking and abuse, and the spread of AIDS have arisen as major issues in recent years. The three problems are common to developed and developing countries, though in varying degrees, and they have provoked relatively quick international responses. In the case of drug abuse and the spread of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), Governments agree on the importance of education for survival.

Against international terrorism, Governments have increased their vigilance and jointly agreed to refuse to concede to the demands of terrorists. In addition, the phenomenon of terrorism has given rise to much inquiry about its socio-political background and the vulnerability of modern society. * Migrants and refugees

In the 1980s the flow of migrants was attenuated by the decline of economic opportunity in both the industrialized and the oil-exporting countries. However, the number of refugees significantly increased, mainly owing to armed conflicts and natural disasters.

In 1986, there were some 12 million people living as refugees, about 10 million of them in developing countries. They mostly sought refuge in neighbouring countries as poor as the ones from which they had fled, which were frequently incapable of meeting even the needs of their own population. The most vulnerable were the more than 3 million in Africa.