Most of us feel we could do more to help disadvantaged children in what we now call the "South". We're bombarded with adverts and pledge days on television, all giving the distinct impression that we know how to help - we just need the resources to solve the problem.

Here in the North we know what to do. The problems are in the South - and we can solve them. Really?

In reality of course, we don't know how to solve our own problems, never mind other people's. In spite of all our investments in research there are still very few proven models and not one capable of tackling all ills in all places.

We're still learning about risks to children's health and development and how to make even small inroads. We've little idea about how to apply learning on a large scale. So why do we imagine we can do in the South what are singularly unable to do in the North?

My experience is to the contrary. Our understanding about what works is variable but there isn't much dispute that the efforts of the international aid community to improve the well-being of children in poor countries are failing. Research on progress towards the UN Millenium Goals to improve the children's health and education makes depressing reading[See Infant deaths down to ten million - or don't we really know? ]. We can always point to a few islands of exceptional effectiveness but they are surrounded by rough seas of poor practice and governance, in part sustained by international donors.

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