It is Blog Action Day today. The theme this year is World Poverty seeing as this blog started with the Make Poverty History March it is like we've come full circle like we did on that glorious summer's day in 2005 but what has changed?Sadly the gap between the world's rich and poor is still gaping.
25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes. That is one person every three and a half seconds.
AIDS kills over 2 million people a year, that's one every 15 seconds with the toll highest in Africa. Despite what some on the religious right in America want to tell you many of these are children, who are often infected with the HIV virus during pregnancy or through breast-feeding.
22 countries pledged to give $195 billion a year to help fight world poverty. As little as 0.7% of their GDP. Only 5 countries are currently meeting that pledge Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark and the Netherlands. Others have a schedule of between 2010 and 2015 to meet their pledge but Switzerland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and trailing behind USA have yet to schedule fulfilling their commitment.
Come on world we have to do better, quicker to make poverty history.
"Only 5 countries are currently meeting that pledge Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark and the Netherlands."
ReplyDeleteSo it's small, independent countries (similar to the size of Scotland) that have their houses in order enough to make good their promises.
Interesting, I wonder if an independent Scotland would have been number 6 on the list....
unfortunate.
ReplyDeletefor my part, i turn to sites like freerice, kiva, and goodsearch, as ways to help alleviate poverty online. my contribution through these sites may be small, but it's there.
saw this post via the front page of blog action day. it's great that you're participating. :)
Jeff shame on you for turning this into a Nationalist agenda. BTW Greece, Portugal and Austria are 3 of those lagging behind to 2015 also small, independent nations.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kouji guess I wasn't on the front page for long.
Jeff shame on you for turning this into a Nationalist agenda. BTW Greece, Portugal and Austria are 3 of those lagging behind to 2015 also small, independent nations.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kouji guess I wasn't on the front page for long.