Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have a central role to play in mobilizing the political will of governments to change the present imbalance in the distribution, consumption, and control of the world's resources. In a time of world economic crisis, millions die unnecessarily every year for lack of food, shelter, and medical care. Thirty percent of all children born in developing countries die before the age of 5 from malnutrition and related diseases. Up to half of those who survive suffer malnutrition severe enough to leave them with irreversibly stunted bodies and minds. Many countries that suffer famine are actually major agricultural exporters to industrialized countries. Far worse conditions will occur in the near future unless attitudes change. One way to change attitudes is through development education, or education that attempts to raise awareness in the industrialized world concerning choices facing mankind and to convey the responsibility of the privileged. By reaching young people early, before narrow attitudes are formed, a global dimension that will help them understand the causes and consequences of poverty and underdevelopment can be communicated. Effective interventions in schools, however, are likely to require community participation. The active community workers of the NGOs can be mobilized to act as pressure groups on a wide range of institutions and to establish development education action groups and resource centers. In all such activities, the national committee for UNICEF would be a natural partner. Assistance could also be sought from the United Nations' Non-Governmental Liaison Service. (RH)