The Issue of Child Poverty in Africa According to the World Health Organization’s report on child health 6.3 million children under the age of 5 died in 2013. Of those 6.9 million, 2.9 million were from Africa. The Report also said 2/3 of these deaths are attributable to preventable disease, and that 1/3 of the babies died within the first 28 weeks after birth (“Child Health”). There is what seems like an endless number of statistics, and almost all of them display the horrifying reality of the poor quality of life that millions of children in Africa are faced with. Malnutrition and disease are both attributable to the huge number of child deaths in Africa. However, the root problem for these issues is often the extreme poverty that exists
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Although it is not directly responsible for the large number of child deaths, it is directly related to the problems that are responsible for their deaths. Over half of the world lives on less than 2 dollars and fifty cents a day. 75 percent of the worlds poorest countries are in Africa (“10 Poverty in Africa Facts”). Poverty for these people is a much more extreme issue than it is in the United States. These people do not have money to pay for food so they rely on natural resources to supply food. Also, the people in these rural areas of Africa are more often than not unable to afford the proper medication that is required to treat the diseases that are common in these areas. Even though the issue of extreme poverty in Africa does not a direct cause of many of the child deaths in Africa, it gives way to many the issues that are directly responsible for these …show more content…
However, there are ways to help stop it. Organizations like UNICEF, Compassion International, many others are working to provide the people in these regions with the resources that they desperately need. They send medical care and vaccinations to help prevent and treat the diseases that are so widespread in these areas. They supply food for families, and in many cases they create wells that provide clean water for the people to drink (UNICEF). These are just a few of the ways that these organizations work to help the children who are living in poverty. And while child poverty is a devastating issue, there is always hope that it can be stopped, as long as there are people willing to
Although it is not directly responsible for the large number of child deaths, it is directly related to the problems that are responsible for their deaths. Over half of the world lives on less than 2 dollars and fifty cents a day. 75 percent of the worlds poorest countries are in Africa (“10 Poverty in Africa Facts”). Poverty for these people is a much more extreme issue than it is in the United States. These people do not have money to pay for food so they rely on natural resources to supply food. Also, the people in these rural areas of Africa are more often than not unable to afford the proper medication that is required to treat the diseases that are common in these areas. Even though the issue of extreme poverty in Africa does not a direct cause of many of the child deaths in Africa, it gives way to many the issues that are directly responsible for these …show more content…
However, there are ways to help stop it. Organizations like UNICEF, Compassion International, many others are working to provide the people in these regions with the resources that they desperately need. They send medical care and vaccinations to help prevent and treat the diseases that are so widespread in these areas. They supply food for families, and in many cases they create wells that provide clean water for the people to drink (UNICEF). These are just a few of the ways that these organizations work to help the children who are living in poverty. And while child poverty is a devastating issue, there is always hope that it can be stopped, as long as there are people willing to