Some Facts About The Two-Third World

They say when speaking or writing if you want to grab people’s attention, grab it early, grab it impactfully, and grab it precisely. They don’t say the grabbing has to be positive or soothing so let me be precise, if unsettling. Let me paint a not too positive picture about current world situations:

About 5 million children per year die per year from diarrhoea and related conditions in developing countries. This is the largest single cause of death of young children.

About 16 million cases of malaria are reported annually.

About 3 million children under five die annually from malaria.

About 3.5 million children under five in developing countries die each year from one of the six following diseases which can be largely prevented by immunization:
- diphtheria;
- whooping cough;
- tetanus;
- measles;
- polio;
- tuberculosis.

Probably as many become disabled from through these largely preventable diseases.

- About 0.5 million children each year become blind from vitamin A deficiency. Two-thirds of these children die.

- About 6.7 million children show signs of moderate vitamin A deficiency making them more vulnerable to infections and other diseases.

- There is 10% more food in the world than would be needed to feed every person on earth, but 730 million people are too weak from hunger to work.

- Chronic malnutrition kills 50 million people a year and affects one-quarter of humanity. (50 million a year = nearly 100 a minute).

- The world spends enough ($17,000 million) on weapons every two weeks to provide food, health care, water and education for everybody on earth!

- Over 0.5 million women in developing countries die each year from pregnancy-related causes, leaving at least one million infants without mothers.

- Only a little over 1/3 of children under five living in developing countries have access to clean water.

Is there anything you can do about these?