Some thoughts from Hugh…
There are 1.4 billion reasons to get LOUD about poverty! At the moment 1.4 billion people worldwide live on less than $1.25 a day.
There are 1.4 billion reasons to get LOUD about poverty! At the moment 1.4 billion people worldwide live on less than $1.25 a day.
Could You?
Probably not, so why should we expect others to do so?
At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, 189 Heads of State and Governments pledged to work together to make a better world by 2015. On behalf of their people, they signed the Millennium Declaration which promises to free men, women and children from the dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty and make the right to development a reality for everyone! They agreed upon eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world’s main development challenges.
The Millennium Development goals include:
halving extreme hunger and poverty;
getting all children into school;
making women more equal;
reducing child mortality;
improving maternal health;
combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
protecting the environment; and
working in partnership to make poverty history.
halving extreme hunger and poverty;
getting all children into school;
making women more equal;
reducing child mortality;
improving maternal health;
combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
protecting the environment; and
working in partnership to make poverty history.
There has been some significant success in some MDG areas and a number of targets are expected to be reached by 2015. Here are a few:
• Deaths from measles fell from over 750,000 in 2000 to less than 250,000 in 2006. I think you would agree that’s quite amazing;
• The number of deaths from AIDS fell from 2.2 million in 2005 to 2.0 million in 2007, and the number of people newly infected declined from 3.0 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2007;
• The incidence of tuberculosis is expected to be halted and begin to decline before the target date of 2015. This will an awesome accomplishment considering In 2006, there were an estimated 1.7 million deaths due to tuberculosis and 14.4 million people infected with the disease, including approximately 9.2 million new cases
• Deaths from measles fell from over 750,000 in 2000 to less than 250,000 in 2006. I think you would agree that’s quite amazing;
• The number of deaths from AIDS fell from 2.2 million in 2005 to 2.0 million in 2007, and the number of people newly infected declined from 3.0 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2007;
• The incidence of tuberculosis is expected to be halted and begin to decline before the target date of 2015. This will an awesome accomplishment considering In 2006, there were an estimated 1.7 million deaths due to tuberculosis and 14.4 million people infected with the disease, including approximately 9.2 million new cases
.
Alongside some of the amazing successes there are a lot of areas that will fall far short of reaching the goals and need a lot more attention. These are some of them:
Alongside some of the amazing successes there are a lot of areas that will fall far short of reaching the goals and need a lot more attention. These are some of them:
• The proportion of people in sub-Saharan Africa living on less than $1 per day is unlikely to be reduced by the target of one-half;
• About one quarter of all children in developing countries are considered to be underweight and are at risk of having a future blighted by the longterm effects of undernourishment;
• Developed countries’ foreign aid expenditures declined for the second consecutive year in 2007 and risk falling short of the commitments made in 2005;
• About one quarter of all children in developing countries are considered to be underweight and are at risk of having a future blighted by the longterm effects of undernourishment;
• Developed countries’ foreign aid expenditures declined for the second consecutive year in 2007 and risk falling short of the commitments made in 2005;
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During the next 60 day’s I will be sharing thoughts about the MDG’s in bite size chunks. As I’m sharing these thoughts, stop and think about what you could do to make a difference even if it’s just for one person.
I hope that wasn’t an overload. If you have skipped everything I just wrote, check out the YouTube above. 
Challenge for the day: Find out more about the Millennium Development Goals by doing a google search or by watching a YouTube.
“At the moment 1.4 billion people worldwide live on less than $1.25 a day. Could You? Probably not, so why should we expect others to do so?”
Mostly because cost of living in these places is much lower. Of course we couldn’t in the West, but in most of the developing world, this kind of an income is a reasonable living, as it is not their only source of support. The vast majority of these people live a subsistence lifestyle. Their income in this pop quote, at $1.25 a day, is more a measure of them not being connected to the global economic system, rather than a measure of poverty.
If we use other indicators of poverty, such as child mortality, I think this is a far more meaningful statistic. It might comfort you to know that child mortality rates are lower in most developing nations now than they were in Europe only a few hundred years ago. However, you might find that small comfort when realising that there is still a very significant difference between developed and developing nations in the present day.
Left by emblazoned on August 16th, 2009