From Dr Michael Harrington.

Sir, Bob Geldof makes an impassioned and convincing appeal for the developing world (“The poor must be included in a global economy”, April 1), but things will never change if poor nations are left to go to rich nations with hat in hand. There is no shortcut to prosperity, but there is a clear path. Debt relief is essential, combined with global policies that empower the poor to leverage their resources, labour and social capital with financial capital.