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"If we want to avoid future wars, we have to attack the causes of war, especially poverty. Where can poor countries find the money to pay for things like schools, clinics, seeds, potable water? The military budget is the obvious place. If we can find a way to reduce the arms trade, many countries will be able to concentrate on programmes that, in the end, prevent wars. -- Oscar Arias Sanchez, former President of Costa Rica and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
What money can buy | |||
| $100 | One AK-47 rifle | or | Enough vitamin A capsules capable of preventing blindness, for 3,000 one-year-olds. |
| $100 million | 10 million anti-personnel land-mines | or | Enough immunizations for approximately 7.7 million children against six deadly childhood diseases. |
| $800 million | 23 F-16 fighter planes | or | Salt iodization for 10 years, to protect 1.6 billion people at risk of mental retardation and other iodine deficiency disorders. |
| $2.4 billion | One nuclear submarine | or | Low-cost rural water and sanitation facilities for 48 million people. |
| $24 billion | 11 radar-evading bombers | or | Four years of primary education for the 135 million children not in school. |