Eighty per cent of the work of the UN is devoted to helping developing countries build the capacity to help themselves. This includes promoting and protecting democracy and human rights; saving children from starvation and disease; providing relief assistance to refugees and disaster victims; countering global crime, drugs and disease; and assisting countries devastated by war and facing the long-term threat of land-mines. The total operating expenses for the UN system -- including the World Bank, IMF, and all the UN funds, programs, and specialized agencies -- are about $18.2 billion a year. This is less than the annual revenue of a major corporation like Dow Chemical, which realized revenues in excess of $20 billion in 1997.