Once again the world finds itself watching as the poor grapple with disaster. This time it is images from the Horn of Africa of people facing famine, and from India of parched earth, dry wells and livestock killed by drought.
Do we always react too late, waiting until images of corpses have already appeared on our television screens? Are we swayed by how far away the catastrophe is, and has the media become our conscience?
Click on the headings above to find out if the world has ever got it right when dealing with disaster.