Think of some of the deadliest diseases in the world. What comes to mind? Malaria, measles, AIDS? Probably not diarrhoea, right? Surprisingly, more children die from diarrhoea each year than all three combined. In fact, up to 3,000 children die every day from preventable diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia, worms and trachoma. People living in poverty often have limited access to improved water sources and adequate sanitation. Micah Challenge’s Give Poverty the Flush campaign aims to draw attention to the difference that water, sanitation and hygiene improvement projects can make. The World Heath Organisation estimates that these improvements have the capacity to save two million lives annually and prevent 28% of all child deaths. Millennium Development Goal 7C aims to halve the number of people living worldwide without access to clean drinking water – approximately 775 million people – by 2015. While great strides towards this goal have been made – with two billion people gaining access to clean water since 1990, there is still a lot more work to be done. A renewed focus on water, sanitation and hygiene projects will also help us reach a number of other Millennium Development Goals by:
• Reducing child mortality by decreasing the occurrence of septicaemia, diarrhoea, pneumonia and malnutrition
• Improving maternal health through increased nutrition
• Ensuring environmental sustainability
• Achieving universal primary education – especially as more girls stay in school when there is access to private toilets
• Stimulating economies through avoided health costs, improved productivity and better school attendance
• Combating HIV/AIDS fatalities through improved treatment. What do we want? And when do we want it?
Micah Challenge is asking for the following assistance from the Australian government:
1. A timetabled commitment to increase the foreign aid budget to 0.7% GNI by 2020
2. An increased budget to $500 million annually by 2015 for water, sanitation and hygiene projects
3. At least half of this $500 million should be allocated to sanitation, with AusAID reporting separately on allocations made to sanitation and water. Want to get involved?
Micah Challenge is encouraging the Australian public to get involved with a series of events, petitions and media promotions to help stop basic sanitation and clean water from being considered a luxury anywhere in the world. To find out how you can get involved, visit http://www.micahchallenge.org.au/give-poverty-the-flush-event
Opportunity International Australia Blog
Opportunity International Australia exists to provide opportunities for people living in poverty to transform their lives. With over 40 years’ experience in microfinance and support services, we use a business approach to solve poverty. Rather than a hand-out, we provide our clients with a loan as small as $100 to help grow their small business. This enables them to earn an income and afford food, water, shelter and an education for their children. Visit www.opportunity.org.au
Get Updates
Subscribe via RSS »Give poverty the flush!
450 million children at risk of malnutrition
The new report states that child malnutrition is largely a hidden problem with few physical symptoms; unlike starvation, it goes largely unnoticed at a global scale. Malnutrition leaves children more susceptible to disease and illness, as well as causing mental and physical stunting.
In India, findings state that 24% of children go hungry every day. While India has seen significant economic growth in recent years, poverty, illness and malnutrition are still rife. Many families can’t afford to give their children milk, bread or meat and many go to bed hungry. Often parents are forced to take their children out of school prematurely so that they can begin working to help support the family’s food supply.
Hunger and malnutrition in young children have enormous ramifications for their future quality of life. Opportunity International Australia understands that to curb malnutrition and illness in children, it is important that they receive adequate and nutritious meals. By providing small microfinance loans to people living in poverty in developing countries such as India, families are able to start a small business, earn a regular income and afford proper meals. Improved financial security also means that they are able to withstand volatile food prices and have a greater chance at leading a life free from poverty.
With your support, Opportunity can help secure the futures for more families living in poverty. Click here to donate today.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/24-per-cent-indian-kids-go-hungry-daily-survey/230602-3.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9696000/9696493.stm
India’s adolescent girls: anaemic and underweight
Millions of adolescent girls in India face the risk of nutritional problems, says the 2011 State of the World’s Children report. Home to more than 243 million adolescents (the largest teenage population in the world), India accounts for almost 20 per cent of the world’s population yet has some concerning health statistics.
Despite the country’s rapid economic growth over the past two decades, many challenges remain for India, particularly for the girls that live within its borders. Malnutrition is common, especially for those belonging to socially excluded castes and tribes. Almost 47 per cent of girls aged 11 to 19 are underweight in India, figures that, according to the report, are the highest in the world.
Also worrying is the finding that more than half of girls aged 15 to 19 in India are anaemic. This has serious implications on maternal health, with many young women in India marrying before the age of 20: girls who are anaemic or underweight have an increased risk of death during pregnancy. Nutritional deprivations are often passed on to the next generation.
Minati, one of Opportunity International Australia’s clients in India, knows too well what it is like to go without food. “Before, we’d eat one day and go hungry the next,” she says. “We could only afford cheap rice and green vegetables.” It wasn’t until she took out a microfinance loan with one of Opportunity’s partner organisations in India that she was able to start a business and increase her income – giving her the income she needed to afford meat, fish and regular meals.
Without interventions like microfinance, many people in India would be on their own, facing alarming statistics like these. If you would like to support people in poverty so they start their own business, please click here.
0 Comments