Giving Back
Today we are going to reflect on the commitment to children around the world. There are several unique opportunities out there but to me, The Global Poverty Project’s plan stood out to me the most. It has been brought to our attention how scarce resources are, especially for children. Working together as global citizens, we have the opportunity to ensure the world’s children have the opportunity to “survive and thrive.”
Receiving immunizations and gaining improved access to sanitation schools has made the numbers of child disparities go down. Despite the progress, it is proven there are still too many children getting left behind, “16,000 children under five die every day, and 9 out of 10 of these deaths occur in low to lower-middle income countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 out of every 12 children dies before their fifth birthday”(GPP,2015).Compare that to higher-income countries where the statistic falls to 1 child out of 149.
The burden of child deaths falls most heavily on lower-income regions of the world. For example, third world countries often times don’t have the resources to vaccinate their children or give them the right nutrients their bodies need. They rarely even have accessibility to fresh, clean water. Those same children can also be stuck living in overcrowded and unsanitary slums where it is extremely likely to get sick fast.
The question is how can we help these children have accessibility to cleaner/healthier resources in even some of the most remote, vulnerable and social excluded communities? This is where Michael Sheldrick’s plan comes in. Michael is the Head of Global Policy and Advocacy at the Global Poverty Project where he has coordinated several international advocacy campaigns including in support of universal sanitation, and access to education. He can help make life more cost effective and preventing illness by “ensuring access to clean drinking water, ending open defecation and encouraging hand washing that stop the spread of these illnesses”(GPP,2015).
Today, 90% of the world’s population has access to improved drinking water, and two thirds to improved sanitation facilities — an improvement that has contributed significantly to the decline in child mortality. But continuing to push hygiene and sanitation initiatives requires more than just resources; it demands changes in cultural beliefs and attitudes. By making small moves like this we have encouraged the worlds progress and we have prevented the deaths of 48 million children, who now have the ability to go to school, work, and contribute to their local communities.
Although we have responded, it is still important it look towards the future to ensure we can keep saving lives and giving access to all available resources. We can only make a difference to the next generation by working together and giving back.
(2015, Nov. 25) Despite progress, too many children are being left behind. Medium. https://medium.com/@TheGPP
